{{Short description|Australian researcher (born 1951)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Anthony Jorm | image = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1951}}<ref name="Who">Who’s Who in Australia 2021.</ref> | birth_place = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia<ref name=Who/> | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | other_names = | known_for = Mental health researcher; co-founder of Mental Health First Aid training | alma_mater = University of Queensland; University of New South Wales; Australian National University<ref name=Who/> | employer = | occupation = | title = | height = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = Betty Kitchener<ref name=Who/> | partner = | children = Two<ref name=Who/> | parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = {{URL|https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/60295-anthony-jorm }} }} '''Anthony Jorm''' (born 1951<ref name=Who/>) is an Australian researcher who has made contributions in the areas of psychology, psychiatry and gerontology.<ref name="Journey">Journey2Psychology. Dr. Anthony Jorm and a Quest for Global Literacy with Mental Health. https://journey2psychology.com/2019/02/10/dr-anthony-jorm-and-a-quest-for-global-literacy-with-mental-health/. Retrieved 11 May 2021.</ref> He also co-founded mental health first aid training with mental health educator Betty Kitchener.<ref>Clay RA. Mental health first aid. APA Monitor on Psychology 2013; 44(7): 32.</ref><ref>Kitchener B, Jorm T. In the beginning: Mental Health First Aid is born in Australia. National Council Magazine 2013; 1: 26.</ref><ref name="Henningham">Henningham P. With health in mind: The story of Australian Rotary Health. Parramatta; Australian Rotary Health; 2011.</ref>
==Career== Anthony Jorm received a BA from the University of Queensland, achieving First Class Honours in psychology and a University Medal in 1973.<ref name=Henningham/><ref name="Sheehan">Sheehan P. Early Career Awards 1980-1981. Australian Psychologist 1982; 17: 293-296.</ref> He then completed a master's degree in clinical psychology (1975) and a PhD in psychology (1977) at the University of New South Wales.<ref name=Henningham/><ref name=Sheehan/> In 1995, he was awarded a DSc by the Australian National University for his research on mental disorders.<ref name=Henningham/> He has held academic appointments at Deakin University (1977–1984),<ref name=Who/><ref name=Sheehan/> the Australian National University (1984–2005), including Director of the Centre for Mental Health Research (2001–2004),<ref name=Who/> and the University of Melbourne (2005–2018).<ref name=Who/> Since 2019, he has been a professor emeritus at the University of Melbourne.<ref name=Who/> Jorm has held National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Fellowships, including being awarded an Australia Fellowship in 2009.<ref name=Who/> He is currently an NHMRC Leadership Fellow.<ref name=Who/>
Honorary positions include president of the Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research (1999–2000),<ref>Society for Mental Health Research. History of Society. https://www.smhr.org.au/history-of-aspr-and-smhr Retrieved 11 May 2021.</ref> chair of the Board of Mental Health First Aid International,<ref name=Who/><ref name="MHFAA">Mental Health First Aid Australia. The MHFA Board. https://mhfa.com.au/our-people/mhfa-australia-board Retrieved 11 May 2021</ref> and chair of the Australian Rotary Health Research Committee (2009–2012).<ref name=Who/><ref name=Henningham/>
==Contributions to research== Jorm's early research at Deakin University was on cognitive processes in reading and spelling, particularly on reading and spelling disabilities.<ref name=Sheehan/> 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.<ref>Jorm AF. Determinants of individual differences in reading achievement. Australian Journal of Psychology 1983; 35: 163-174.</ref>
At the Australian National University, he worked with A. S. (Scott) Henderson on the epidemiology of dementia and depression.<ref name="Henderson">Henderson AS, Jorm AF. Some contributions to the epidemiology of dementia and depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 1997; 12: 145-154</ref> 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”.<ref name=Henderson/> This research included studies showing history of depression as a risk factor for dementia.<ref name="11Jorm">Jorm AF. History of depression as a risk factor for dementia: an updated review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2001; 35: 776-781.</ref> Measures were developed for the assessment of dementia including the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) and the Psychogeriatric Assessment Scales.<ref>Australian Government Department of Health. Psychogeriatric Assessment Scales (PAS) User Guide. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/psychogeriatric-assessment-scales-pas-user-guide Retrieved 11 May 2021.</ref>
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.<ref>McKay DR. What’s trending at the Medical Journal of Australia? The current top 10 most-cited articles. MJA 2014; 201:22-26.</ref> The research on mental health literacy was a major influence on the development of Mental health first aid training.<ref name="MHFAI">Mental Health First Aid International. The History of Mental Health First Aid. https://mhfainternational.org/history-of-mental-health-first-aid/ Retrieved 11 May 2021</ref> Jorm's current research at the University of Melbourne is on building the community's capacity for prevention and early intervention on mental disorders.<ref name="Academy">Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Academy Fellow Professor Tony Jorm FASSA. https://socialsciences.org.au/academy-fellow/?sId=0032v000033l9MmAAI. Retrieved 11 May 2021.</ref>
Jorm has published work on expert consensus in science, including its role in establishing scientific truth, in guiding professional practice and policy, and agreeing on what are acceptable scientific methodologies.<ref name="Consensus">Springer Nature Link. Expert Consensus in Science. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-97-9222-1/ Retrieved 1 June 2025</ref> He has also written specifically about the validity and use of the Delphi method for establishing expert consensus.<ref name="Delphi">Springer Nature Link. Using the Delphi Method to Establish Expert Consensus. https://link.springer.com/book/9789819683567/ Retrieved 1 June 2025</ref>
Jorm has been listed as one of the most cited researchers in the mental health field in Australia and the world.<ref name=Academy/><ref>Hickie IB, et al. Can we track the impact of Australian mental health research? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2005; 39: 591-599.</ref> In 2020, he was ranked in the top 500 most-cited scientists in the world across all scientific disciplines.<ref>Ioannidis JPA, et al. Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators. PLoS Biology 18(10): e3000918. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000918</ref>
==Role in Mental Health First Aid== In 2000, Jorm was a founder of Mental Health First Aid training, together with his wife Betty Kitchener.<ref name=MHFAI/> 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.<ref name=MHFAI/> In 2011, together with Betty Kitchener, he founded the not-for-profit organization Mental Health First Aid International<ref>Australian Government. Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Mental Health First Aid International. https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/86929ecfc04c401b4f1fb5b830da113a#overview Retrieved 11 May 2021</ref> and was the inaugural chair of its board.<ref name=Who/><ref name=MHFAA/> 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.<ref>Mental Health First Aid Australia. https://mhfa.com.au/ Retrieved 11 May 2021</ref>
==Editorial roles== He was the editor-in-chief of the Australasian Journal on Ageing from 1997 to 2001<ref>Jorm T. New directions for the journal. Australian Journal on Ageing 1997; 16: 146.</ref> and editor-in-chief of ''Mental Health & Prevention'' from 2019 to 2024.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20240918055551/https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/mental-health-and-prevention</ref> He was an associate editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry from 2005 to 2021<ref>Malhi G. Thanks, thoughts, and other things: On being the Editor and what it brings. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2021; 55; 435-441.</ref> and an associate editor of Early Intervention in Psychiatry from 2006 to 2013.<ref name=Who/>
==Awards and honours== * University of Queensland Medal, 1973<ref name=Who/> * Guy Goodricke Prize in Psychology<ref name=Sheehan/> * Australian Psychological Society Early Career Award, 1982<ref name=Who/> * Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, 1994<ref name=Academy/> * Ewald W Busse Research Award from the International Association of Gerontology, 1997<ref name=Who/> * Founders’ Medal, Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research, 2002<ref name=Who/> * ISI Highly Cited Researcher, 2003<ref>ISI HighlyCited. https://web.archive.org/web/20061019072852/http://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/browse_author.pl?link1=Browse&link2=Results&submit=LASTNAME&value=J&page=1. Archived 19 Oct 2006.</ref> * Australian Rotary Health Medal, 2007<ref name=Who/> * Thompson Scientific Citation Award, 2008<ref name=Who/> * Excellence in Mental Health Education, National Council of Behavioral Healthcare, USA, 2008.<ref name=MHFAI/> * National Health and Medical Research Council Australia Fellow, 2009<ref name=Who/> * Outstanding Academic Mentor Award, Australian Psychological Society, 2017<ref name=Who/> * Research.com Psychology in Australia Leader Award, 2022, 2023, 2024<ref name="research.com">Research.com. Anthony F Jorm. https://research.com/u/anthony-f-jorm. Retrieved 15 May 2023.</ref> * Research.com Medicine in Australia Leader Award, 2023, 2024<ref name=research.com/> * James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award, Association for Psychological Science, 2024<ref>Association for Psychological Science. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/members/awards-and-honors/cattell-award. Retrieved 6 October 2023.</ref> * ScholarGPS Highly Ranked Scholar- Lifetime, 2024<ref name="scholargps.com">ScholarGPS.com. https://scholargps.com/scholars/36608445956371/anthony-f-jorm?tracking_id=fd753c23fb3970fa69bb. Retrieved 26 April 2024.</ref> * Lifetime Achievement Award, National Council for Mental Wellbeing (USA), 2025.<ref name="Natcon awards">{{cite web |url=https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/2025/05/mhfa-summit-2025-empowering-conversations/|title=MHFA Summit 2025 |author=National Council for Mental Wellbeing |date=20 May 2025 |accessdate=26 May 2025 }}</ref>
==Personal life== Jorm married Betty Kitchener in 1978 and they have two children.<ref name=Who/> He is a keen cyclist.<ref name=Who/><ref name=Journey/> He is a member of the Rotary Club of Carlton.<ref name=Who/><ref name=Henningham/>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jorm, Anthony}} Category:Living people Category:1951 births Category:Academic staff of Deakin University Category:Academic staff of the Australian National University Category:Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Category:Australian psychologists Category:Australian academic journal editors Category:Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Category:University of Queensland alumni Category:University of New South Wales alumni Category:21st-century Australian social scientists Category:Australian medical researchers Category:People from Brisbane