Anna is a health systems scientist with expertise in co-design methodology and implementation studies with mixed-methods evaluations. She is a Senior Research Fellow in health systems at the George Institute for Global Health and Program Lead for Ageing and Health Systems.
Anna's research centres on the co-design of effective implementation strategies to strengthen primary health care services in resource-constrained settings of the Asia-Pacific region. She has a particular interest in the development of appropriate health system responses to healthy ageing: Anna has previously implemented a longitudinal study on aspects of healthy ageing in older Australians with cataract, recently led an assessment of health system strengthening needs to support healthy ageing in Fiji, and is currently partnering with the Asia-Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies to drive evidence generation to support healthy ageing policy in Tonga, Kiribati and Federated States of Micronesia.
Anna is committed to evidence-informed health policy and practice. She has a strong track record of partnering with government stakeholders in the design of policy-relevant research, has co-authored commissioned reports for government bodies and advocacy groups, and has produced policy briefs for government departments.
My Grants
• Australian Government Regional Health Partnership: RESist-NCD - Building resilient and people-centred health systems for non-communicable disease prevention and control in Pacific and Southeast Asian countries. (PI) 2024-2028
• MRFF: Clinician Researchers Applied Research in Health Grant Opportunity. SWAPYT: System-Wide Action on Paediatric and Youth Trauma care. (CI) 2024-2027
• Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Australia Indonesia Knowledge Partnerships Platform: SINERGI - Exploring links between climate change, food security and health in coastal communities of Central Java. (PI) 2023-2024
• NHMRC-GACD Research Grant: Evaluating the impact, investment case and scale-up of ‘Health Promoting Schools’ in Fiji. (CI) 2023-2028.
• International Society of Nephrology. Socioeconomic burden and investment case for the treatment of rare kidney diseases. (CI) 2023-2024
• National Institute of Health Research (NIHR): HIPCARE: a cluster randomised controlled trial with embedded process evaluation. (CI) 2022-2026
• Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies: Development of a regional policy brief: Strengthening the health system response to population ageing in Pacific Island Countries. (PI) 2022-2023
• WHO Western Pacific Regional Office: Support in developing and implementing a situational analysis of Healthy Ageing in Vanuatu. (PI) 2022.
• NCD Alliance/The Helmsley Charitable Trust: Development of research policy report on NCD care integration opportunities. (CI) 2021.
• NHMRC Early Career Fellowship [GNT1161527]: A health systems approach to strengthening primary health care. (CIA) 2019-2022.
• NHMRC-GACD Research Grant [GNT1169763]: Scale-up of a primary care intervention for cardiovascular risk management in Malang, Indonesia. (CI) 2019-2023.
• The George Institute for Global Health LMIC Seed Funding: Promoting evidence-based policies, programs and services for ageing and health in Fiji. (CIA) 2019.
• Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change. System level Intervention to improve Medicines use for Prevention of cardiovascuLar disease in Indonesia (SIMPLI). (CI) 2018-2019.
• NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation. Ophthalmology Network Pilot Funding: Best pRactIce surGical and refracTive management of cataract: the BRIGhT Project pilot study. (CI). 2018-2020.
• Ariadne Labs (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). Development of Reports on Gaps in Primary Health Care Research (Asia-Pacific). (CI) 2018.
My Qualifications
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Currently supervising
Evaluating the impact of Performance-Based Financing on the prevention and management of Non-Communicable Diseases within Primary Health Care in Indonesia (PhD, UNSW)
Evaluating primary health care interventions to tackle the burden of non-communicable diseases among populations affected by air pollution in Indonesia (PhD, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta)
A rapid assessment of health system preparedness for diabetes and hypertension (MPH/MGH Extn Major Research Project, UNSW)
My Engagement
Croakey Health Media. Universal health coverage: more relevant than ever for Australians, Dec 7, 2020: <weblink>
The Age. Waiting to see, Dec 3, 2016: <weblink>
The Sydney Morning Herald. Cataracts patients left vulnerable to falls and depressive symptoms languishing on wait lists, Dec 4, 2016: <weblink>
INSIGHT: Australia’s Leading Ophthalmic Magazine. Cataract patients experience depression and falls, Dec 7, 2016: <weblink>
The Australian. Calls for speedier cataract surgery, Nov 3, 2015: <weblink>
The Senior, August 2013: Falls and cataract surgery.
Australian Optometry (Official newspaper of Optometry Australia), August 2013: Cataract surgery wait raises falls risk.
Transforming the Nation’s Healthcare. Health and Ageing Australia Research Roundup. July 31, 2013: <weblink>
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8127-9351