Three islands in the sea of data

Observations on out of pocket expenditure, alcohol consumption and hysterectomy

Groups related to this event

Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science

Event date

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

Speakers

Emeritus Professor Stephen Leeder and Emeritus Professor Farhat Yusuf

Abstract

This seminar will demonstrate creative possibilities for the use of high-quality survey and routinely collected statistical information to address health-related questions that have demographic and public health elements.

Three published studies will be presented dealing with the out-of-pocket expenditure on health care¹ and alcohol consumption² in Australia, and changes in the incidence of hysterectomy in New South Wales over the past 30 years³.

All three studies were based on ABS surveys (Household Expenditure Survey, 2009-10 and National Health Surveys, 2001 and 2011-12), and de-identified hospital discharge summaries in New South Wales, 1981 to 2010-12.

References

1. Yusuf, F. & Leeder, S. (2013) Can’t escape it: the out-of-pocket cost of health care in Australia. Medical Journal of Australia, 199 (7): 475-478.
2. Yusuf, F. & Leeder, S. (2015) Making sense of alcohol consumption data in Australia. Medical Journal of Australia, 203 (3): 128-130.
3. Yusuf, F., Leeder, S. and Wilson, A. (2016) Recent estimates of the incidence of hysterectomy in New South Wales and trends over the past 30 years. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 56(4): 420-425.

Speaker profiles

Emeritus Professor Stephen Leeder

Stephen Leeder is a Professor Emeritus of public health and community medicine at the University of Sydney. He is currently Chair of the Western Sydney Local Health District Board, and Director, Research Network, Western Sydney Local Health District.

He has a long history of involvement in public health research, educational development and policy. His research interests as a clinical epidemiologist have been mainly asthma and cardiovascular disease. His interest in public health was stimulated by spending 1968 in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

In 2003-04, Professor Leeder worked at Columbia University, New York, in the Earth Institute and Mailman School of Public Health, developing a substantial report, based on research data and scientific interpretation, of the economic consequences of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in developing economies. The report, A Race against Time: the challenge of cardiovascular disease in developing economies, concentrated upon the macroeconomic consequences of CVD, and especially on the fact that one-third of CVD deaths in many developing countries were occurring among people of working age.

In recent years, Professor Leeder has directed the development of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, a collaborative centre between The Australian National University and the University of Sydney.

Emeritus Professor Farhat Yusuf

Farhat Yusuf is a Professor Emeritus of demography in the Department of Marketing and Management, Faculty of Business and Economics at Macquarie University, and also holds the position of Honorary Professor of public health in the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, at the University of Sydney.

He has a long history of teaching and research on population and health related matters in both Australia and overseas. He has held visiting appointments in prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and Cornell University in United States, City University (London), the University of Southampton in United Kingdom., and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Beijing). He has also been a consultant at various international organisations including the UN Population Fund, UN Development Programme, International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Arab League.

Professor Yusuf has co-authored four books – most recent being Consumer Demographics and Methods of Demographic Analysis – published by Springer in 2013 and 2015 respectively. His research papers have appeared in refereed journals such as Population Research and Policy Review, Journal of Biosocial Science, Journal of Public Health, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and the Medical Journal of Australia.

Seminar details

Date: Wednesday 22nd February 2017

Time: 12pm - 1pm

Venue: Seminar room, Level 1, 75 Talavera Road, Macquarie University

Chair: Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite

Please register for this seminar.