Research showcase, Department of Applied Epidemiology

Presentation 1: Implementing mortality surveillance strengthening in Timor-Leste
Reliable data on deaths and causes of death are fundamental to health systems. They underpin public health planning, policy development, and the early detection of emerging threats. This matters most in countries facing a growing burden of non-communicable disease alongside persistent infectious epidemics. The COVID-19 pandemic also showed the need for timely, real-time mortality monitoring, and exposed how many countries struggle to produce these data.
In Timor-Leste, mortality is recorded in four unconnected systems, with no data sharing or reconciliation between them, and limited national level vital statistics reporting. Village administration registers are the most complete source, but they capture only around 40% of deaths and omit cause of death. Health sector systems record mainly facility deaths, and detailed cause-of-death data exist only for hospital deaths.
A phased implementation project to integrate and strengthen data collection systems is underway utilising the WHO Global Framework for Mortality Surveillance, developed with the WHO Country Office, the CRVS Technical Steering Committee and the Australian National University. Key components include a standard death notification form for administrative and health sectors, and electronic record-matching through DHIS2 and a National Institute of Statistics repository. The project is also delivering capacity building and a monitoring plan, providing a model for national scale-up.

Presentation 2: Examining the use of the term CALD in public health: 
The term “culturally and linguistically diverse” (CALD) is used in Australia to describe some groups of migrants. Implicitly, the term defines ‘others’ who are ‘different’ to the dominant normative Australian. Despite being poorly defined, the use of the term as standard language in health literature and public discourse has increased dramatically over the past decade. As public health researchers and practitioners, we must minimise potential risks of harm, maximise health benefits and ensure the rigour of our data collection, analysis and reporting methods. Davoud and the team argue that we must refrain from continuing to use this concept. They have completed two projects, delivered a workshop and are conducting a project to support researchers and practitioners to move away from using the term. In this presentation, Davoud will share some of the main findings from the projects.

Presentation 3: Scaling Up the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in Australia:
Breastfeeding is a key determinant of maternal and child health, yet access to breastfeeding-supportive maternity care remains uneven across Australia. The WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) provides an evidence-based framework to protect, promote and support breastfeeding through the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
This Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)-funded project investigates opportunities to strengthen and scale up BFHI implementation across Australia. Using geospatial analysis and consumer preference research, the project examines the distribution of BFHI-accredited services and explores the value women place on breastfeeding support, continuity of care, and post-discharge services.
Preliminary findings indicate geographic inequities in access to BFHI-accredited maternity care, with accredited facilities concentrated in metropolitan areas. Emerging evidence also demonstrates strong consumer demand for BFHI-aligned practices and ongoing breastfeeding support after hospital discharge.

Speakers

Dr Matthew Kelly is a leader in research on health in the Asia-Pacific region, at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH). He has research experience addressing the major regional health challenges, including global health and health transitions, public health nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Neglected Tropical Diseases, and burden of disease assessment, particularly for mortality, spanning more than 15 years. Since 2015 Dr Kelly has been involved in projects in countries across the region aiming to strengthen mortality surveillance and quality of cause of death data. This has included working with the World Health Organization on their Global Mortality Surveillance Framework. In this seminar he will present a Timor-Leste case study for this program.

Dr Davoud Pourmarzi is an epidemiologist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Epidemiology, Australian National University. He has worked for more than 12 years as a Public Health Practitioner in health systems and more than a decade as an academic. Davoud’s research examines the effectiveness, acceptability, and equity of disease prevention and control programs, with a particular focus on migrant health. He is a Curriculum Convenor of the Master of Applied Epidemiology program and serves in national

Dr Andini Pramono is a researcher in maternal and child health whose work focuses on breastfeeding policy, health systems, and implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). She is a Chief Investigator on an MRFF-funded project examining equitable access to breastfeeding-supportive maternity care in Australia and is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant and Head of the Research Division at the Indonesian Breastfeeding Mothers Association.