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Mantell, Rhys

Rhys Mantell

PhD Candidate, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
Rhys Mantell is a final-year PhD candidate in the School of Population Health at UNSW and a researcher within the Justice Health Research Program (JHRP). His doctoral work, undertaken as part of the NHMRC-funded ASCAPE project, focuses on co-designing and evaluating digital health tools—particularly game-based cognitive assessments (GBCAs)—for older people in restrictive environments such as prisons. His research examines how innovative digital technologies can strengthen cognitive screening and improve health outcomes for older adults involved in the justice system, with a strong emphasis on trauma-informed and culturally appropriate design, development and implementation.

Alongside his PhD, Rhys contributes to a growing program of research exploring the reintegration journeys of older people leaving Australian prisons. This includes qualitative and mixed-methods studies on health literacy, digital exclusion, and the emotional dimensions of post-release recovery. He was recently awarded a Seed Grant to lead the project Unpacking strengths-based emotional healing and trauma recovery for older Australians with a recent experience of incarceration, which investigates how older adults define and navigate emotional healing after prison—and how services can better support this process.

Rhys also contributes to the ReINVEST trial, the world’s first randomised controlled trial evaluating pharmacological interventions for men with histories of violence, where he supports qualitative research and knowledge translation.

His broader experience spans national evaluations and policy projects across ageing, mental health, and justice health sectors, including roles at Deloitte and Australian Healthcare Associates.

Rhys has a particular interest in critical realism, which he applies to examine complex social and psychological phenomena in justice health. This perspective underpins much of his qualitative work, informing analyses of the lived experiences of marginalised and underserved populations and guiding the development of practical, theory-informed insights for service design and policy reform.

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