I would like to acknowledge the Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin nation and the Gunditjmara people, who are the traditional custodians of the lands and waters on which Deakin University is located. I pay my respect to their Elders past and present and thank them for their care of the land.
This is my first year with Deakin Health Economics (DHE) and I have been very impressed by the enthusiasm, passion and ability of the team. It is also fabulous to have such strong support for, and investment in health economics, from the broader School, Faculty and University. There is lots to celebrate in 2022 some of the highlights are included in this newsletter.
Through its teaching and research activity Deakin Health Economics continues to be leading the way in growing the capacity and reach of health economics in Australia and nationally. It was fabulous to welcome our students back to campus this year and to celebrate with our students graduating from our post-graduate programs. We also had a number of successful PhD completions, well done to all our graduates.
What I have enjoyed most this year is being part of a high performing and values driven team whose work makes a difference to health in Australia and beyond. Examples include our Health Technology Assessment team led by Assoc. Professor Silva Zavarsek delivering work for Federal government, our research success from nationally competitive funding bodies including NHMRC, our work with our industry and health partners such as our latest partnership with West Victoria Primary Health Network, the list goes on….
DHE staff have also been busy enjoying face to face events, with DHE funding supporting a number of our staff to attend national and international conferences. We had nine staff presenting at Australian Health Economics Society Conference 2022. We also had presenters at the International Congress on Obesity, Digital Health Summit, Australasian College of Health Services Management Congress, The Clinical Oncology Society Annual Scientific meetings and more to come at the Health Services Research Association Australia and New Zealand Conference. The presentations demonstrate the breadth and scope of the research activity across the team.
We have been lucky to welcome new staff members including;
- Sean Randall, Senior Post Doctoral Research Fellow
- Peter Lee, Research Fellow
- Brandon Nguyen, Research Fellow
- Moosa Al Subhi, Research Fellow
- Sophie Di Falco, Senior Administration Officer
- Madison Frith, Research Assistant
We are actively recruiting into a number of new academic and PhD positions.
DHE have been out in the Media, Dr Feby Savira co-authored an article in the conversation entitled ‘I need to see a doctor after hours. What are my options? | YourLifeChoices‘. Nikki McCaffrey and Anita Lal’s research on household expenditure of smokers and ex-smokers across socioeconomic groups also featured in a number of media sources included a media release from Quit and The Courier.
I also managed to grab an interview with WIN News Ballarat to talk about DHE’s Evaluation of the New Ballarat Priority Primary Care Centre.
As we draw to the end of another year living with COVID 19 – I would like to extend thoughts and wishes to our health services who have supported us through the last few years and continue to provide high quality health services to our communities. The workforce challenges across Australia are very real, with some of the greatest challenges in our rural and remote regions. During such turbulent times education and research plays a critical role in effective and cost effective health care delivery. The DHE team continue to work across education and research and are looking forward to an impactful 2023.
To find out more about our work in 2022 please read on and do reach out to me and/or the team if you would like to hear more.
Wishing our readers a restful holiday season and all good wishes for 2023,
Suzanne
