Mr Rhys Mantell

Rhys Mantell is a postdoctoral researcher within the Justice Health Research Program (JHRP) at the School of Population Health, UNSW.

His doctoral research, conducted within the NHMRC-funded ASCAPE project, focused on the co-design and evaluation of digital health tools (particularly game-based cognitive assessments; GBCAs) for older people in prison. His current work continues to explore how innovative digital technologies can improve cognitive screening and health outcomes for older adults involved in the justice system, with a strong emphasis on trauma-informed and culturally appropriate design, development and implementation. He was recently the recipient of an RM Gibson Grant (funded by the AAG Research Trust and Dementia Australia) to extend the ASCAPE project to more broadly support older Australians "ageing at the margins".

Rhys works closely with Dr Jane Hwang on an emerging program of research exploring the reintegration journeys of older people leaving Australian prisons. This includes qualitative and mixed-methods studies examining health literacy, digital exclusion, and the emotional dimensions of post-release recovery. He was recently awarded a seed grant (Unpacking strengths-based emotional healing and trauma recovery for older Australians with a recent experience of incarceration), to investigate how older people define and navigate emotional healing after prison, and how services can better support this process.

Rhys is also involved in the ReINVEST trial- a world first randomised control trial evaluating pharmacological interventions for men with histories of violence- where he supports qualitative research and knowledge translation efforts. He has also contributed to multiple large-scale national evaluations and policy projects across ageing, mental health, and justice health sectors during his time at Deloitte Consulting and Australian Healthcare Associates (AHA).

A key interest of Rhys’ is critical realism, which he applies to unpack complex social and psychological phenomena in justice health. This approach underpins much of his qualitative work, particularly in understanding the lived experiences of marginalised and underserved populations, and in generating practical, theory-informed insights for service design and policy reform.

He is committed to applied, interdisciplinary research that turns knowledge into action- supporting trauma-informed, culturally safe and user-accepted solutions for underserved populations.

Research strengths

• Designing and developing digital health tools and game-based cognitive assessments
• Novel screening approaches to detect dementia in marginalised cohorts
• Reintegration and post-release outcomes for older people ageing at the margins
• Trauma recovery, mental health and emotional wellbeing in marginalised populations
• Critical realism, participatory approaches and complex qualitative methodologies
• Justice health policy, service design and reform
• Large scale health and social service evaluations