| Anthony Jorm | |
| Birth Date: | [1] |
| Birth Place: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Known For: | Mental health researcher; co-founder of Mental Health First Aid training |
| Alma Mater: | University of Queensland |
| Spouse: | Betty Kitchener |
| Children: | Two |
Anthony Jorm (born 1951[1]) is an Australian researcher who has made contributions in the areas of psychology, psychiatry and gerontology.[2] He also co-founded mental health first aid training with mental health educator Betty Kitchener.[3] [4] [5]
Anthony Jorm received a BA from the University of Queensland, achieving First Class Honours in psychology and a University Medal in 1973.[5] [6] He then completed a master's degree in clinical psychology (1975) and a PhD in psychology (1977) at the University of New South Wales.[5] [6] In 1995, he was awarded a DSc by the Australian National University for his research on mental disorders.[5] He has held academic appointments at Deakin University (1977–1984),[1] [6] the Australian National University (1984–2005), including Director of the Centre for Mental Health Research (2001–2004),[1] and the University of Melbourne (2005–2018).[1] Since 2019, he has been a professor emeritus at the University of Melbourne.[1] Jorm has held National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Fellowships, including being awarded an Australia Fellowship in 2009.[1] He is currently an NHMRC Leadership Fellow.[1]
Honorary positions include president of the Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research (1999–2000),[7] chair of the Board of Mental Health First Aid International,[1] [8] and chair of the Australian Rotary Health Research Committee (2009–2012).[1] [5]
Jorm's early research at Deakin University was on cognitive processes in reading and spelling, particularly on reading and spelling disabilities.[6] This work examined the role of problems in storage and retrieval of phonological information from long-term memory, as well as the influence of the home and school environment, on reading achievement.[9]
At the Australian National University, he worked with A. S. (Scott) Henderson on the epidemiology of dementia and depression.[10] This research included “integrated analyses of published work; instrument development; cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal surveys of cognitive decline, dementia and depression in general population samples; and a case-control study of Alzheimer’s disease”.[10] This research included studies showing history of depression as a risk factor for dementia.[11] Measures were developed for the assessment of dementia including the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) and the Psychogeriatric Assessment Scales.[12]
In the mid-1990s, Jorm began research on mental health literacy, introducing this term and carrying out a national survey of the mental health literacy of the Australian public. An article on this work was listed as the 5th most-cited article in the 100-year history of the Medical Journal of Australia.[13] The research on mental health literacy was a major influence on the development of Mental health first aid training.[14] Jorm's current research at the University of Melbourne is on building the community's capacity for prevention and early intervention on mental disorders.[15]
Jorm has been listed as one of the most cited researchers in the mental health field in Australia and the world.[15] [16] In 2020, he was ranked in the top 500 most-cited scientists in the world across all scientific disciplines.[17]
In 2000, Jorm was a founder of Mental Health First Aid training, together with his wife Betty Kitchener.[14] He led research to evaluate the effects of Mental Health First Aid training and guidelines on how to give mental health first aid for a range of developing mental health problems and mental health crises.[14] In 2011, together with Betty Kitchener, he founded the not-for-profit organization Mental Health First Aid International[18] and was the inaugural chair of its board.[1] [8] By 2024, Mental Health First Aid training had spread to over 25 countries and over 6 million people had been trained globally with over 1 million of those in Australia.[19]
He was the editor-in-chief of the Australasian Journal on Ageing from 1997 to 2001[20] and has been the editor-in-chief of Mental Health & Prevention since 2019.[21] He was an associate editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry from 2005 to 2021[22] and an associate editor of Early Intervention in Psychiatry from 2006 to 2013.[1]
Jorm married Betty Kitchener in 1978 and they have two children.[1] He is a keen cyclist.[1] [2] He is a member of the Rotary Club of Carlton.[1] [5]