Global health

Many researchers in the School are helping understand a wide range of health and health care issues on the international stage within transdisciplinary teams working in countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, India, Brazil and Vietnam.

Key academics

Case studies

Associate Professor Jane Frawley

Routine immunisation rates have fallen across the globe during COVID-19. A/Professor Jane Frawley is working with partners, including Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, UNICEF, Department of Finance and Trade (DFAT), Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Fiji National University, Tonga Ministry of Health, and Tonga Tertiary Institution to develop information resources to support conversations about vaccines between health workers and communities in Fiji and Tonga.

The program aims to support the introduction of new vaccines (for example the introduction of the HPV vaccine in Tonga) and encourage timeliness and uptake of routine vaccines.

Making health decisions can sometimes be complex, especially when there is much information to decipher. A/Professor Jane Frawley believes decision aids can help. Vaccine decision aids give information about the disease and available vaccines. They allow us to compare the risks associated with the infection with potential vaccine side effects while considering our circumstances and values.

Jane led a collaboration with the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), with support from the Australian Digital Health Agency and the Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies (APPRISE) to develop decision aids for the adults and children’s COVID-19 vaccines.

These online, interactive decision aids are now available in six languages and have helped thousands of people make decisions for themselves and their children. Jane is also leading work on developing further decision aids, such as a decision aid to help pregnant women decide about the flu vaccine.

Professor Angela Dawson

Professor Dawson is committed to research improving equitable access to maternal and reproductive health for women and girls in Australia, regionally and globally.

Achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and reducing maternal death rates is a significant global challenge. Six hundred thousand women die worldwide every year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Poor women and adolescents, particularly the 60 million displaced by conflict, suffer disproportionately from unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion, maternal death and disability, and experience barriers to information and care.

Competent, well-managed human resources for health (HRH) are essential to the delivery of evidence-based interventions.