Rate My Professor Melsina Makaza

Dr. Melsina Makaza is a Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Newcastle's College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. She is a registered mental health nurse whose career spans clinical practice and academia, beginning in the United Kingdom in 1995 after obtaining a Diploma of Higher Education in Pre-registration Nursing and a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing from the University of Luton. Makaza completed her PhD in 2021 at the University of Bedfordshire, with a thesis titled 'Exploring mental health nurses’ experiences of a patient suicide in the community'. Additional qualifications include a BA Honours Degree in Mental Health Nursing (2004) and a Professional Graduate Certificate in Post Compulsory Education (2009) from the University of Bedfordshire, along with Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. Her academic appointments started in 1998 as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Luton, followed by Practice Educator (2005-2007), Senior Lecturer (2013-2018) at the University of Bedfordshire, and Academic Course Lead in Mental Health Nursing at the University of Gloucestershire (2018-2023). Since July 2023 at the University of Newcastle, she has served as Course Coordinator for NURS6070 Mental Health for Older People (2025) and NURS6623 Leadership and Management in Practice (2024), and Program Convenor for the Master of Mental Health Nursing Program with Custodial Health Specialisation (since April 2025).

Makaza's research interests focus on suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention; transcultural mental health; psychoneuroimmunology and physical health in mental health practice; perinatal mental health and wellbeing in midwifery; successful ageing and dementia care; and nursing workforce development, including disaster preparedness, graduate transitions, and health promotion for nurses. As an Early Career Researcher, she utilizes qualitative methods such as Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and contributes to the Continuity Aligned Dedicated Education Unit (CADEU) project, leading the Student Experience Stream and CADEU 2.0 evaluation in partnership with the Central Coast Local Health District. Selected publications include 'Accepting the Legitimacy of Difference: Tools to Support the Decolonisation of Human Research Ethics in Western Health Research' (Nursing Open, 2025, co-authored with Rooney and Wilson), 'The Social Impacts of Peer Interactions During Emergency Accommodation for Those Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence: A Systematic Review' (2025), and 'Bridging the gap: Normalising spiritual care in undergraduate nursing education: A review of qualitative research' (2025). She is Community Engagement and Liaison Officer and Suicide Prevention Lead on the Hunter Medical Research Institute Healthy Minds Executive, an affiliate of the Central Coast Research Institute, a research mentor in the CCLHD 2025 Research Internship Program, and a member of the School of Nursing and Midwifery Research Ethics Advisory Panel.