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Vikki Bunton

Office: AS334
Telephone: +61 3 9214 5226
Email: vbunton@swin.edu.au

Vikki Bunton is a Research Assistant to the ADR, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences and a Masters candidate within the Institute of Social Research. She has research experience on two Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grants (2003 – 2005/6) and is currently working on an ARC Linkage Grant (2009 -2012). She is also part of an International research project exploring the ethical and social implications of a new point of care cancer diagnostic: SmartHEALTH Integrated Bio-diagnostic Systems for Healthcare (SmartHEALTH), in collaboration with MiniFab Australia and the Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences Centre at the University of Newcastle on Tyne (2007-2009).  Research conducted within the SmartHEALTH project has also formed the basis of Vikki’s MA thesis. 

Topic

What Women Want: Preventative technologies for cervical cancer

This thesis examines women’s opinions regarding organised prevention of cervical cancer, focussing on new technological developments in screening and prevention and the role of trust in women’s acceptance of these new developments. This qualitative research is part of a larger health project called ‘the Smart Integrated Biodiagnostic Systems for Healthcare project (SmartHEALTH), which aims to develop a commercially viable point-of-care-diagnostic with possible applications for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer. The thesis examines women’s perceptions of the SmartHEALTH diagnostic as a new means of screening for cervical cancer as well as researching the acceptance of the newly developed Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a preventative measure. Participative focus groups conducted with women compare the traditional Pap Smear testing with SmartHEALTH HPV testing and discuss the uptake and impact of the HPV vaccine on cervical cancer prevention and organised screening. In particular the research examines women’s own articulation of issues of trust with the new technology, the aspects that women consider important in organised screening and prevention, how they would like to see new technological developments implemented and their reasons for compliance or non-compliance with national cervical cancer screening and prevention policy.

Candidacy

MA

Supervisors

Professor Michael Gilding and Dr Karen Farquharson

Publications and Other Research Outputs

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