Dr Xiaoyun Zhou

Dr Xiaoyun Zhou is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures, The University of Queensland. Her research focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health, child and adolescent mental health, health services research, and digital mental health. She specialises in population mental health, health equity, and the use of linked administrative and national datasets to understand the epidemiology of mental health conditions and patterns of service utilisation.
Prior to joining The University of Queensland, Xiaoyun worked as a psychological counsellor in schools across China, providing counselling and mental health education for children and adolescents. She also worked with Kummara Association in Brisbane, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members in a community service setting.
At The University of Queensland, Xiaoyun completed her master’s degree and then her PhD on the development and evaluation of a digital mental health intervention for Chinese adolescents.

During her postdoctoral research at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, she led research within an MRFF-funded Indigenous mental health program, investigating mental health service access, utilisation, telehealth, disability supports, and health system equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Southeast Queensland. She also contributed to the evaluation of an aftercare program for children and young people experiencing a mental health crisis. Her research combines epidemiology, health services research, mixed-methods research, and advanced statistical analyses of large-scale linked administrative and longitudinal datasets to generate evidence that informs mental health policy and service improvement.