Professor Afaf Girgis | UNSW Research

My Expertise

Measurement of health related behaviours, especially in relation to well-being and supportive care of cancer patients and caregivers; Modification of the psychosocial outcomes of people affected by cancer, including survivors and their families and caregivers; Modification of the behaviour of health care providers, including through communication skills training; Evaluation of the quality of medical care, including efficient systems to support adoption of evidence based practice; Promoting needs-based palliative care; Translation of research into policy and practice.

Keywords

culturallly and linguistically diverse populations

behavioural medicine

psycho-oncology

patient-reported outcome measures

Fields of Research (FoR)

Public Health and Health Services, Oncology and Carcinogenesis, Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology

SEO tags

Behaviour and Health

Health Status (e.g. Indicators of Well-Being)

Carer Health

Cancer and Related Disorders

Biography

Emeritus Professor Afaf Girgis AM, is with the South Western Sydney Clinical Campuses, UNSW Sydney. She has worked for over 32 years as a Behavioural Scientist in cancer control and psycho-oncology. She has extensively researched and published in areas including prevention and early detection of cancer, development and psychometric testing of measures to assess cancer patients’, caregivers’ and health care professionals’ unmet needs, developed and evaluated strategies for improving psychosocial outcomes in clinical practice using rigorous research designs, and undertaken research and teaching in communication skills of health professionals. Her national and international standing in behavioural science and psycho-oncology was acknowledged in 2012 with the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Inaugural Psycho-oncology Award, in 2015 with the Lady Mary Fairfax Distinguished Researcher Award, and in 2017, with 4 distinguished awards: South West Sydney Research Hub annual prize, UNSW in the South West Distinguished Research Prize, the South Western Sydney Local Health District Translational Research Award, and the South Western Sydney Local Health District Board Award. Her collaborative research was also awarded the Best of ASCO Abstract Award in 2017; Best Poster Award, Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA) Annual Congress 2016; Liverpool Catholic Club Best Community Paper prize in 2017, and Paper of the Year in both 2013 and 2014 - Health Services and Epidemiological, South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW Medicine. Her significant service to medicine, and to medical education, in the field of cancer control and psycho-oncology was recognised when she was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in 2019.

Broad research interests include:

1) Measurement of health related behaviours, especially in relation to well-being and supportive care of cancer patients and caregivers.

2) Modification of the psychosocial outcomes of people affected by cancer, including survivors and their families and caregivers.

3) Research with people of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

4) Modification of the behaviour of health care providers.

5) Evaluation of the quality of medical care, including efficient systems to support adoption of evidence based practice.

6) Translation of research into policy and practice.

My Grants

GRANTS 2014+

Investigators	Title	Funding source	Years Funded	Funds Awarded/year	Total funds awarded (Au$)
Beatty L, Koczwara B, Kemp E, Butow P, Girgis A, Hulert-Williams N, Kaambwa B, Schofield P, Turner M, Woodman R	Finding My Way-Advanced: Can a web-based psychosocial intervention improve mental quality of life for women with metastatic breast cancer?	Cancer Australia: 2020 Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme (PdCCRS)	2021 2022 2023	$173,651 $199,704 $171,904	$545,259
Smith B, Brown B, Girgis A, Garvey G	Towards the development of a culturally responsive fear of cancer recurrence intervention for Australia’s First Peoples	TACTICS Pilot Study Funding Scheme, Menzies School of Health Research	2021	$14,900	$14,900
Soon P, Girgis A	Breast reconstruction decision aid: Improving the quality of decision-making for Arabic women with breast cancer	Cancer Institute NSW - Innovations in Cancer Control Grants 2020	2020 2021	$20,000 $10,000	$30,000
Sansom-Daly UM, Kelada L, Wakefield CE, Cohn RJ, McGill BC, Girgis A, Patterson P, Taylor N, Miller A, Beattie A, Schleicher N, Hanbury N	Partnering with community organisations to deliver online resilience programs for young people and parents after cancer treatment	Sydney Partnership for Health, Enterprise and Research (SPHERE) Cancer Clinical Academic Group E/MCR Seed Grant	2020	$50,000	$50,000
Harrison R, Walton M, Manias E, Wilson C, Seale H, Girgis A, Smith B	Enhancing safety and care quality for culturally and linguistically diverse cancer consumers: A consumer engagement approach	National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant	2020 2021 2022	$137,603.20 $137,603.20 $142,603.20	$417, 809.60
Livingston P, White V, Orellana L, Botti M, Jefford M, Girgis A, Austin D, Mihalopoulos C, Ugalde A, Russell L	Improving the mental health of cancer survivors with an online mindfulness program: a partnership model to impact on cancer care	National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership Project	2020 2021 2022	$238,685.20 $205,445.40 $271,514.10	$715,644.70
Webb P, Chan R, Brown B, Wyld D, Sabesan S, Gordon L, Hartel G, Girgis A, Eastgate M, Sanmugarajah J, Wishart L, Nund R, Doyle M (Consumer), Miller E (Consumer).	PROMISE: Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in cancer care: A hybrid effectiveness-Implementation trial to optimise Symptom control and health service Experience	Cancer Council Queensland & QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute	2020 2021 2022 2023		$2,000,000 (CCQ $1.4M; QIMRB $600,000)
Smith AB, Girgis A, Daddich A, Caixeiro N, Rankin N, Rapport F, Fardell J, Sansom-Daly U, Paul C, Donnelly C, Boyle F.	Cancer Implementation Science Community of Practice: Continuing to Build Capacity and Collaborations for Better Cancer Outcomes	Cancer Institute NSW	2019 2020	$50,000 $50,000	$100,000
Girgis A, Durcinoska I, Arnold B, Bray V, Arnold A, Delaney GP, Smeal T	Using patient reported outcomes to deliver integrated cancer care and evaluate long-term morbidity across South Western Sydney and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District Cancer Services	Centre for Oncology Education and Research Translation (CONCERT), Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research & UNSW	2019 2020	$75,000 $75,000	$150,000
Durcinoska I, Girgis A (Co-CIA), Delaney GP, Avery S	Redressing equity in healthcare: Utilising patient reported outcomes to support Chinese and Vietnamese patients to self-manage their cancer related challenges	Cancer Institute NSW	2019 2020	$60,000 $60,000	$120,000
Durcinoska I, Girgis A, Delaney GP	Redressing equity in healthcare: Utilising patient reported outcomes to support Chinese women with breast cancer	Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research	2019	$24,000	$24,000
Garvey G, Cunningham J, Whop L, Brotherton J, Girgis A, Olver I, Howard K, Griffiths K, Baxi S	Targeted Approaches to Improve Cancer Services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians	ARC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE)	2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023		$2,499,981
Connor SJ, Ng W, Girgis A, O’Brien C, Toong C, Jensen S, Lee S, O’Neill S, Makris A, Kelleher A, Shackel N, Levy M, Roberts T, Bokey L, Foo H, Sechi A, Dunning A, Andrews J, Turner I, Frankum B, Lemberg D, Begun J, El Omar E	Gut and the Microbiome: Role in Health and Disease (Academic Unit)	South Western Sydney Local Health District: Academic Units Enhancement Grant	2018 2019 2020 2021 2022	$210,000 $210,000 $210,000 $210,000 $210,000	$1,050,000
Sansom-Daly UM, Wiener L, Darlington A-S, Poort H, Rosenberg A, Weaver M, Mack J, Haase J, Phillips-Salimi C, Wernli K, Wakefield CE, Girgis A	Understanding and addressing the training needs of clinicians to improve end-of-life care for adolescents and young adults with cancer worldwide	Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Global Accord (2018 AYA Global Accord Psycho-Oncology Research Acceleration Grant)	2018 2019 2020 (18 months)	$59,999	$59,999
Smith A, Girgis A, Mancuso P, Sidhom M, Maxwell T, Wong K, Bokey L, Haghigi K, Berry M, Ngo D, Chong P	Development and piloting of a Question Prompt List (QPL) to aid informed treatment decision making in men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer	ANZUP Clinical Trials Group: Below the Belt Research Fund	2018 2019 (12 months)	$49,610	$49,610
Girgis A, Churches T, Durcinoska I, Farrow J, Delaney G	Collecting patient-reported measures from patients in their first language, using text, computer-generated speech and voice recognition: The next-generation PROMPT-Care app for mobile phones and tablet computers	South Western Sydney Local Health District and Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research – Innovation Tank Award	2018 2019 (12 months)	$12,000	$12,000
Girgis A, Durcinoska I, Delaney G	PROMPT-Care implementation at Fairfield	South Western Sydney Local Health District	2018 2019	$150,000 $75,000	$225,000
Beatty L, Koczwara B, Butow P, Girgis A, Schofield P, Jurner MJ, Hulbert-Williams N, Coll J, Kaambwa B	Can a web-based psychological intervention for women with advanced breast cancer improve well-being and reduce health care use? A randomised controlled trial	Cancer Council South Australia Beat Cancer Research Project Grant	2018	$75,000	$75,000
Girgis A	Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Personalised Treatment and Care (PROMPT-Care); eHealth supporting patient-centred care	South West Sydney Research Annual Prize	2018	$5,000	$5,000
Kanazaki R, Connor S, Girgis A, Smith B	Addressing variations in care in Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Australia: A multifaceted approach to improve clinician adherence to guidelines	Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGLC)	2018	$91,737	$91,737
Barton M, Jorm L, Delaney G, Holloway L, Girgis A, Pearson S, Chua B, Crowe P, Liauw W, Levi C, Churches T, Vajdic C	CaVa - a platform for research into cancer clinical variation	UNSW Research Infrastructure Scheme 2018	2018 2019	$174,563 $45,863	$220,426
Garvey G, Girgis A, Aoun S, Cunningham J, Wakefield C, Shahid S, Smith A	Assessing supportive care needs of Indigenous cancer survivors' caregivers	ARC Indigenous Discovery Grant [Domestic, Government]	2018 2019 2020 2021 2022		$689,924
Delaney GP & Girgis A (co-CIs), Agar M, Bensoussan A, Knight A, Bray V	ACRF OASIS Centre for Optimal Cancer Survivorship – Capital Works funding	Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF)	2018	2018	$2,000,000
Sansom-Daly UM, Wakefield CE, Cohn RJ, Wiener L, Girgis A, Sanson-Fisher R, Patterson P, Anazodo A, Jaffe A, Donovan L, Matigian B, Lindsay T, O’Dwyer C, Maguire F, Drew D	Difficult Discussions: Helping adolescents and young adults to voice their choices at end-of-life	HCF Research Foundation [Domestic, NGO]	2018 2019 2020	$57,687.34 $61,568.79 $63,549.43	$188,745.56
Girgis A	WeCope: Development of an illness self-management intervention for Chinese-Australian people diagnosed with cancer and their primary caregiver	Tour de Cure [Domestic, NGO]	2018	$132,678	$132,678
Koh E-S, Avery S, Delaney G, Girgis A, Knight A	Cancer Specialist Survivorship Assessment Unit– tailored information for targeted shared care	Cancer Institute NSW Innovations in Cancer Control Grant [Domestic, Government]	2017-18	$120,000	$120,000
Sousa M, Girgis A, Friedlander M, Hickey M, Peate M (AI: Durcinoska I)	Improving genitourinary and sexual health for women with breast cancer: A nurse-initiated plan of care	Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research Breast Cancer Research Grant [Domestic, Research Institution]	2017	$19,718	$19,718
Connor SJ, Girgis A, Andrews JM, Siegel CA	Controlled trial of a decision aid for ulcerative colitis patients: Enhancing patients’ quality of life, empowerment, quality of decision making and disease control	Gastroenterological Society of Australia AbbVie IBD Clinical Research Grant [Domestic, NGO]	2016	$75,000	$75,000
Levesque J, Girgis A	Care Assist: A study to inform the development of an online intervention to support male caregiver of women with breast cancer	Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research [Domestic, Research Institution]	2016	$20,000	$20,000
Wakefield CE, Cohn RJ, Girgis A, Butow P, King M, Patterson P, Wallace H, Sansom-Daly U. AIs: McLoone, J.K., Cohen, J., Fardell, J., Donovan, L., Viney, R., Levesque, J., Johnston, K., Anazodo, A.	Development and implementation of real-world, sustainable, interventions to prevent chronic physical and mental health conditions in paediatric cancer survivors and their families [PG16-02]	Cancer Council NSW (plus 20% additional funding support from UNSW) [Domestic, NGO]	2016 2017 2018 2019 2020	$538,441 $538,921 $539,655 $539,849 $538,028	$2,694,894
Girgis A	PROMPT-Care: Implementation in the Wollondilly Shire	Wollondilly Health Alliance,	2016-2017	$100,000	$100,000
Sansom-Daly UM, Wakefield CE, Cohn RJ, Wiener L, Girgis A, Sanson-Fisher R, Patterson P, Donovan L, Anazodo A, Drew D	Breaking the silence around end-of-life: Pilot testing a new advance care planning guide for adolescents and young adults with cancer	ANZCHOG/ CanTeen Australia [Domestic, NGO]	2015 2016 (12 months)	$29,987 $29,987	$59,974
Girgis A	Evaluation of Breast Cancer Network Australia’s Rural Forums	Breast Cancer Network Australia [Domestic, NGO]	2015	$40,000	$40,000
Butow P, Andrews G, Girgis A, Kelly B, Hack T, Clayton J, Price M, Beale P, Viney R, Kirsten L	A sustainable and supported clinical pathway for managing anxiety and depression in cancer patients: Developing and evaluating components and testing implementation strategies	Cancer Institute NSW Translational Program Grant [Domestic, Government]	2015 2016 2017 2018 2019	$730,264 $717,465 $724,127 $745,737 $726,398	$3,643,992
Kasparian N, Schofield D, Austin M-P, Winlaw D, Girgis A, Sholler G	Critical illness in children: Can we afford to neglect the psychosocial risks? The impact, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of routine psychosocial assessment and stepped care for families of infants with heart disease	National Health and Medical Research Council [Domestic, Government] Application ID: APP1081001	2015 2016 2017 2018 2019	$219,004.50 $193,707.60 $198,707.60 $142,482.10 $178,661.60	$932,563
Law E, Girgis A, Levesque J, Elsalah H	The social support experience of colorectal patients and their caregivers within a cancer treatment setting	ACT Health Radiation Oncology Private Practice Fund [Domestic, NGO]	2015	$5,140	$5,140
Levesque J, Girgis A	Illness self-management in Chinese women with breast cancer and their carers: Cultural adaptation of Coping-Together	Dart West Developments Breast Cancer Grant, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research [Domestic, NGO]	2015	$10,000	$10,000
Hudson P, Girgis A, Mitchell G, Philip J, Parker D, Currow D, Liew D, Thomas T	Family meetings for hospitalized palliative care patients: Benefits and resource implications	Victorian Cancer Agency [Domestic, Government]	2015 2016 2017	$190,000 $190,000 $70,000	$450,000
Shaw T, Sanson-Fisher R, Dadich A, Girgis A, Braithwaite J	Development of an implementation science community of practice and education program	Cancer Institute NSW (Implementation Group Community of Practice grant) [Domestic, Government]	2014	$140,011	$140,011
Girgis A	COSA Travel Grant	Clinical Oncology Society of Australia [Domestic, NGO]	2014	$1,000	$1,000
Girgis A, Delaney G	Patient reported experience collaborative project – Phase 2	Cancer Institute NSW & Bupa Health Foundation [Domestic, Government]	2014 2015 2016 2017	$150,000 $150,000 $152,961 $150,000	$602,961
Barton M, Lee S, Girgis A, Delaney G, Bokey L, Ranson M	Centre for Oncology Education and Research Translation (CONCERT)	Cancer Institute NSW Translational Cancer Research Centre [Domestic, Government]	2014 2015 2016 2017 2018	$1,641,196 per year	Total CINSW $6,499,980 PLUS $1,706,000 cash-leveraged (UNSW, UWS, UoW, Ingham) = $8,205,980
Wakefield CE, Cohn RJ, Girgis A, McCarthy M, Grootenhuis M, Sansom-Daly U	A multicentre phase II randomised controlled trial of a parent/carer-targeted intervention to improve quality of life in families of young cancer survivors	Cancer Australia [Domestic, Government]	2014 2015 2016	$166,806.00 $153,585.45 $136,961.20	$457,352.65
Knight A, Delaney G, Liaw S-T, Pennock R, Girgis A	Fostering integration of general practices with cancer services through improved communication pathways	Cancer Institute NSW Innovation Grant Program - Evidence to Practice Grant [Domestic, Government]	2014	$49,990	$49,990
Girgis A, Delaney G, Miller A, Arnold A, Carolan M, Della-Fiorentina S, Kaadan N, Avery S, van Domburg N, Ng W, Spring K	Patient reported experience collaborative project	Cancer Institute NSW - Patient reported experience Collaborative Project Grant [Domestic, Government, NGO]	2013-2014	$200,000	$200,000

My Qualifications

PhD, BSc(Hons1)

My Awards

2019: Member (AM) of the Order of Australia, awarded for significant service to medicine, and to medical education, in the field of cancer control and psycho-oncology.

2018: Winner, 2018 Australia and New Zealand Urogenital Prostate Cancer Trials Group Travel Fellowship: Rincones O, Smith AB, Sidhom M, Mancuso P, Wong K, Berry M, Forstner D, Bokey L, Girgis A. Robots versus Radiation: Decision support needs of men with localised prostate cancer choosing between robotic prostatectomy and radiotherapy treatment.

2018: Winner, 2018 Australia and New Zealand Urogenital Prostate Cancer Trials Group Best of the Best Nursing/Allied Health: Rincones O, Smith AB, Sidhom M, Mancuso P, Wong K, Berry M, Forstner D, Bokey L, Girgis A. Robots versus Radiation: Decision support needs of men with localised prostate cancer choosing between robotic prostatectomy and radiotherapy treatment.

2018: Winner, 2018 Health Beyond Research and Innovation Showcase e-Poster People’s Choice Award: Gerges M, Levesque JV, Girgis A. What do men want? Preferences for a training intervention for male supporters of women with breast cancer.

2017: South West Sydney Research Hub annual prize (Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Personalised Treatment and Care (PROMPT-Care): eHealth supporting patient-centred care)

2017: Liverpool Catholic Club Best Community Paper prize: Smith AB, Agar M, Delaney G, Descallar J, Dobell-Brown K, Grand M, Aung J, Patel P, Kaadan N, Girgis A. Lower trial participation by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) cancer patients is largely due to language barriers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2017;1–9.

2017: Distinguished Research Prize, UNSW in the South West

2017: SWSLHD Translational Research Award, awarded for having the greatest translational impact in the health service

2017: SWSLHD Board Award, selected from all award applicants across all categories

2017: Best of ASCO Abstract Award. Beith J, Thewes B, Turner J, Gilchrist J, Sharpe L, Girgis A, Smith AB, Fardell J, Tesson S, O’Connell R, Asher R, Butow P & members of the Conquer Fear authorship group. Long-term results of a phase II randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a psychological intervention (Conquer Fear) to reduce clinical levels of fear of cancer recurrence in breast, colorectal and melanoma cancer survivors. American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO). Chicago, Illinois, USA, June 2017.

2016: Best Poster Award: Fok E, Spence D, Girgis A, Anderson J. Impact of rural community information forums on people affected by breast cancer. Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA) Annual Congress 2016: Bridging The Gap. Cairns Australia 12-14 May 2016.

2015: Lady Mary Fairfax Distinguished Researcher Award. This Ingham Institute award recognises an individual with a long-standing career in significant research achievements contributing to the South Western Sydney Local Health District’s research output.

2014: Paper of the year: Health Services and Epidemiological, South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW Medicine, UNSW. Girgis A, Lambert SD, McElduff P, Bonevski B, Lecathelinais C, Boyes A, Stacey F. Some things change, some things stay the same: A longitudinal analysis of cancer caregivers' unmet supportive care needs. Psycho-Oncology, 2013, 22(7), 1557-1564.

2013: Paper of the year: Health Services and Epidemiological, South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW Medicine, UNSW. Lambert SD, Jones B, Girgis A, Lecathelinais C. Distressed partners and caregivers do not recover easily: Adjustment trajectories among partners and caregivers of cancer survivors. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2012, 44(2), 225-235. doi:10.1007/s12160-012-9385-2.

2012: Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Inaugural Psycho-oncology Award. Australia has a proud history of excellence in psycho-oncology care and research. COSA (the peak cancer organisation in Australia) along with the Australian Psycho-Oncology Group (OZPOS) and the Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group (PoCoG) established this award in 2012, to recognise the highest level of contribution to psycho-oncology from amongst the membership of COSA, OZPOS and PoCoG.

2007: Best Poster Award: ISOQOL Conference on Patient Reported Outcomes in Clinical Practice. Budapest, Hungary. Girgis A, Boyes A. Proactive routine monitoring and intervention to reduce the psychosocial impact of cancer therapy.

2004: Newcastle Conference Ambassador Programme Appreciation Award, The University of Newcastle and Newcastle City Council

2004: National Heart Foundation Rudolf Gerstl Research Award

1986: Commonwealth Post-graduate Research Scholarship

1985: Australian Psychological Society Prize for Highest Pass in Psychology IV (Honours)

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