Melanie Renfrew is the Course Convenor for the Post-graduate Lifestyle Medicine degrees at Avondale University in New South Wales, Australia. She completed the Graduate Diploma in Lifestyle Medicine at Avondale in 2017 and immediately commenced a PhD program under the supervision of Professor Darren Morton. Mel published numerous articles on her PhD findings, exploring the effectiveness of human support to improve adherence and outcomes in an online mental health promotion initiative. After completing her PhD in 2022, Mel continued research, focusing on optimising the efficacy of online interventions while ensuring their scalability.
Mel previously conducted the renowned Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) in her local community and worked with a small team in 2016 to launch CHIP into the online space in Australia and New Zealand. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine and is in her sixth year as Avondale University’s Lifestyle Medicine Course Convenor.
Her special interests include whole food, plant-based cooking, gardening, biking, hiking and paddling in beautiful natural landscapes.
Lifestyle Medicine
| Year | Level | Research title | Institution | Supervisor type |
| Current | PhD | Factors influencing teacher wellbeing: in faith-based Australian Schools | Avondale University | Co-supervisor |
| Current | PhD | Implementation of a Lifestyle Medicine Intervention for Mental Health in Primary Care Settings: Examining Acceptability, Facilitators and Barriers to Service Delivery | Avondale University | Co-supervisor |
Morton, D. P., Renfrew, M., & Matthews S. (2024). The American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s offering of a mental health and wellbeing program (The Lift Project) to its members – Caring for the carers. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 18(5), 671-680. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276231178762
Oakes-Cornellissen, A., Morton, D., Rankin, P., & Renfrew, M. (2023). Efficacy of a multimodal lifestyle intervention (The Lift Project) for improving the mental health of individuals with an affective mood disorder living in South Africa. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1127068. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1127068
Przybylko, G., Morton, D., Morton, J. K., Renfrew, M., & Hinze, J. (2022). An interdisciplinary mental wellbeing intervention for increasing flourishing: Two experimental studies. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 17(4), 573-588. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2021.1897868
Przybylko, G., Morton, D., Morton, J., & Renfrew, M. (2021).
The influence of gender and age on the outcomes of and adherence to a digital interdisciplinary mental health promotion intervention in an Australasian nonclinical setting: Cohort study. JMIR Mental Health, 8(11), e29866.
doi: 10.2196/29866
Renfrew, M. E., Morton, D. P., Morton, J. K., & Przybylko, G. (2021). The influence of human support on the effectiveness of digital mental health promotion interventions for the general population. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 716106. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716106
Renfrew, M. E., Morton, D. P., Northcote, M., Morton, J. K., Hinze, J. S., & Przybylko, G. (2021). Participant perceptions of facilitators and barriers to adherence in a digital mental health intervention for a nonclinical cohort: Content analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(4), e25358. https://doi.org/10.2196/25358
Przybylko, G., Morton, D., Kent, L., Morton, J., Hinze, J., Beamish, P., & Renfrew, M. (2021). The effectiveness of an online interdisciplinary intervention for mental health promotion: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology , 9(1), 77. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00577-8
Przybylko, G., Morton, D. P., & Renfrew, M. E. (2021). Addressing the COVID-19 mental health crisis: A perspective on using interdisciplinary universal interventions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 644337. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644337
Morton, D. P., Hinze, J., Craig, B., Herman, W., Kent, L., Beamish, P., … Przybylko, G. (2020). A multi-modal intervention for improving the mental health and emotional well-being of college students. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 14(2), 216-224. doi:10.1177/1559827617733941.
Renfrew, M. E., Morton, D. P., Morton, J. K., Hinze, J. S., Przybylko, G., & Craig, B. A. (2020). The influence of three modes of human support on attrition and adherence to a web- and mobile app–based mental health promotion intervention in a nonclinical cohort: Randomized comparative study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e19945. doi:10.2196/19945
Renfrew, M. E., Morton, D. P., Morton, J. K., Hinze, J. S., Beamish, P. J., Przybylko, G., & Craig B. A. (2020). A web- and mobile app–based mental health promotion intervention comparing email, short message service, and videoconferencing support for a healthy cohort: Randomized comparative study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(1), e15592. doi:10.2196/15592
Gray, I. D., Kross, A. R., Renfrew, M. E., & Wood, P. (2020). Precision medicine in lifestyle medicine: The way of the future? American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 14(2), 169-186. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827619834527
Renfrew, M., Morton, D., & Rankin, P. (2022). A localized lifestyle medicine initiative targeting mental health [Conference presentation abstract]. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 17(1_suppl), 75. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276221128370
Matthews, S., Morton, D., & Rankin, P. (2022). The ACLM lift project - Caring for the carers [Conference presentation abstract]. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 17(1_suppl), 74. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276221128370
Renfrew, M., Morton, D., Morton, J., Hinze, J., Beamish, P., Przybylko, G., & Craig, B. (2019, October). The influence of human support on the effectiveness of an online mental wellbeing initervention. Abstract presented at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Conference, Orlando, Florida.
Renfrew, M., Morton, D., Morton, J., Hinze, J., Beamish, P., & Przybylko, G. (2019, June). The influence of human support on the effectiveness of a web- and mobile app-based multimodal lifestyle intervention targeting mental health: A randomised comparative study. Abstract/poster presented at the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
Przybylko, G., Morton, D., Kent, L., Hinze, J., Beamish, P., Renfrew, M., Morton, J. (2018, October). The effect of an online multimodal lifestyle intervention on mental health and emotional wellness: A randomised control trial. Abstract presented at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Renfrew, M., Morton, D., Kent, L., Beamish, P., Hinze, J., Przybylko, G., & Craig, B. (2018, September). Protocol for a study investigating the influence of graded levels of human support on adherence and outcomes of an online, multimodal lifestyle intervention to improve mental health. Abstract/poster presented at the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
