Australian Rotary Health

Ken Kirkby is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Tasmania, Chief Psychiatrist in Mental Health Services Tasmania, and consultant psychiatrist at the Royal Hobart Hospital. His research areas include drug side-effects on memory, the epidemiology and genetics of psychoses, and internet mental health for anxiety and depression.

Professor Kirkby has a keen interest in education and is a past chair of the Bi-National Committee for Training and Committee for Continuing Medical Education of RANZCP.  He also served for eight years on the Australian Rotary Health Grant Panel.

Professor Kirkby is a member of the Board of beyondblue. He is President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, until May 2009.

SUMMARY OF PROJECT:

In 2005 Prof Ken Kirkby from the University of Tasmania received a research grant from Australian Rotary Health and Rotary Club of South Launceston to address youth suicide in Tasmania. ‘Yshareit’, a website for teenagers was developed as well as a state-wide youth oriented mental health interest group. In phase 2 of the project, which is funded by Australian Rotary Health, Sally’s Ride, and Rotary Club of Central Launceston, ‘Virtual Youth Ambassadors’ will be added, more secondary schools will have yshareit workshops and the program will expand to Tasmania’s rural areas.