Dr Suzanne Belton

Honorary fellow

Qualifications:

PhD (Public Health / Medical Anthropology), University of Melbourne, 2005; Bachelor of Social Science (Hons 1), University of South Australia, 1996; Midwife, Queen Victoria Hospital, 1990.

Approved level of HDR supervision at Charles Darwin University:

Principal Supervisor for PhD

Location:

Darwin - Charles Darwin University campus

Biography:

Dr Belton is a medical anthropologist and midwife with clinical experience in community health, women's health, family planning and refugee health.

She has an adjunct position as senior researcher at Charles Darwin University (CDU) and has worked in remote Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, East Timor and China.

Dr Belton's research interests include the anthropology of health, the social and cultural context of sexual and reproductive health, gender and violence against women, cross-cultural studies, traditional birth attendants, community ethnography, models of maternal health care, and human rights. She uses mixed methods and teaches qualitative research methods, global health, sexual and reproductive health and community and public health.

Dr Belton is the Chairperson of Family Planning Association NT and a past representative for Australia in International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Research Themes
  1. Belton, S., Myers, B., & Ngana, F. R. (2014). Maternal deaths in eastern Indonesia: 20 years and still walking: an ethnographic study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 14(1), 39-39. 
  2. Ireland, S., Narjic, C. W., Belton, S., Saggers, S., & McGrath, A. (2014). ‘Jumping Around’: Exploring Young Women’s Behaviour and Knowledge in Relation to Sexual Health in a Remote Aboriginal Community. Culture, Health and Sexuality.
  3. Barclay, L., Dunbar, T., Kildea, S., Belton, S, & Gao, Y. (2014). Improving Aboriginal maternal and infant health services in the 'Top End' of Australia; synthesis of the findings of a health services research program aimed at engaging stakeholders, developing research capacity and embedding change. BMC Health Services Research, 14(1), 241. 
  4. Burns, K., & Belton, S. (2013). Clinicians and their cameras: policy, ethics and practice in an Australian tertiary hospital. Australian health review: a publication of the Australian Hospital Association, 37(4), 437-441. 
  5. Belton, S. (2011 Proceedings of the Understanding Timor-Leste Conference, Dili, Timor-Leste). Health Professionals and Lawyers Understandings of Domestic Violence and the Domestic Violence Law: the 2011 Judicial System Monitoring Program survey. Paper presented at the Hatene (Understanding) Timor-Leste, Dili.
  6. Chenall, R., Senior, K., & Belton, S. (2011). Negotiating Human Research Ethics: Case notes from anthropologists in the field. Anthropology Today, 27(5), 13-17.
  7. Belton, S. (2010). Violence, poverty and 'weakness': the interpersonal and intuitional reasons why Burmese women end a pregnancy. In A. Whittaker (Ed.), Abortion in Asia:  Local Dilemmas, Global Politics (pp. 78-101). New York: Berghahn Books.
  8. Belton, S., Whittaker, A., Fonseca, Z., Wells-Brown, T., & Pais, P. (2009). Attitudes towards the legal context of unsafe abortion in Timor-Leste. Reproductive Health Matters, 17(34), 55-64.
  9. Belton, S., & Whittaker, A. (2007). Kathy Pan, Sticks and Pummelling: fertility regulation and unsafe abortion by Burmese women. Social Science and Medicine, 65(7), 1512-1523.
  10. Weymouth, S., Davey, C., Wright, J., Nieuwoudt, L.-A., Barclay, L., Belton, S., et al. (2007). What are the effects of distance management on the retention of remote area nurses in Australia? Australian Journal of Rural Health, 7(3), 652. 
Click here to view more Suzanne Belton publications in PubMed.
  1. Women in regional areas struggle with unplanned pregnancies

    Women in regional areas struggle with unplanned pregnancies

    Date

    Susan Belton, an adjunct professor with Menzies school of health research in Darwin, said the lack of regional doctors did not help.

  2. Sharing a Heartbeat: Rheumatic heart disease movie released in Darwin

    Sharing a Heartbeat: Rheumatic heart disease movie released in Darwin

    Date

    A push for more awareness around the effects of rheumatic heart disease on pregnancy has led to a film developed, written, and directed by Australian Indigenous women.

  3. Conference to examine provision and quality of abortion services in the NT

    Conference to examine provision and quality of abortion services in the NT

    Date

    Early research conducted by Menzies has highlighted the lack of information regarding termination of pregnancy in the NT.