BA Double Hons (University of London), MA (University of London), PhD: Public Health (University of Technology, Sydney). Dr Meredith is currently involved in research projects on the FIFA Women's World Cup, the impact of sport and physical activity in regional areas and ADHD and physical activity and well-being. Their research particularly focuses on the lived experiences of women, people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), neurodivergent and First Nations people in sport and physical activity; she explores barriers and affordances to participation. Dr Meredith has a PhD in Public Health (2021) from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). Their research formed part of an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project. The thesis examined the health service use and self-care (including CAM use and physical activity) of older Australian women with sleeping problems. As well as health and epidemiology, they have research experience in history, sociology and politics and were awarded BA double honours degrees (2000) and a MA degree (2002) from the University of London, UK. Dr Meredith has worked and researched in a variety of international contexts. From 2007-2009, they worked in Phnom Penh for The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS)-in partnership with Pannasastra University-as well as other conflict transformation NGOs in Cambodia. There they undertook qualitative research in South East Asia, primarily Myanmar. As a qualified teacher, they also first taught yoga and mindfulness in Phnom Penh, where they became interested in its transformative capacity for mental and physical health. They have collaborated on research projects with academics from USA, UK, Myanmar and Cambodia. Dr Meredith has taught in the areas of public health, research methods, biomedicine, health sociology, the history and politics of health, Indigenous sport and health, sociocultural foundations of human movement, exercise, health and disease, sports media, health science and workplace learning. Oli teaches the HIP 101 subject (Introduction to Australian society and health), coordinates some WPL subjects and is based in Canberra. She is passionate about helping equip students to be their most effective, professional, inclusive, and considerate versions of themselves in the health workforce. One of the reasons she enjoys working at CSU is because of the university’s commitment to the Wiradjuri philosophy of yindyamarra winhanganha, the wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in. Dr Meredith’s research areas include women’s experiences of the FIFA women’s World Cup; participation in sport and physical activity by women, neurodivergent and First Nation people and people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). By researching the lived experiences of these groups, Dr Meredith interrogates the affordances and barriers to participation in sport and physical activity and the subsequent effects on well-being and health. They also research in the areas of women’s sleeping problems, women's health, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), yoga and lived experiences of women with ADHD and chronic conditions. They have researched in the field of conflict transformation. Dr Meredith completed their PhD as part of an ARC discovery grant project; a national sociological study of the use of self-care for chronic conditions at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), specifically through the Australian Research Centre of Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM). They investigated the health service use and self-care of older Australian women with sleeping problems through analysis of two of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest data sets on health: the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALWSH) and the 45 and Up Study. Dr Meredith has both quantitative and qualitative research experience. During their time working in Cambodia, they contributed to research publications including the book Voices from the Inside: Ethnic People Speak, a qualitative account of experiences from various ethnic groups working to transform conflict in Myanmar. View Dr Meredith's CSU Research Outputs
Exercise and Sports Science
Dr Oli (Sophie) Meredith
Lecturer in Exercise Science
Bathurst