Dr Kim-Huong Nguyen

Senior Evaluator

Centre for Health Services Research
Faculty of Medicine

Senior Lecturer

School of Public Health
Faculty of Medicine

Overview

Kim-Huong uses economic theories and methods to examine the social and economic values of healthcare. She develops programs and policies aimed at improving the value of health and social care services and ensuring fair access and use for disadvantaged populations. Since 2022, she has been an Atlantic Fellow with the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin and the University of California, San Francisco.

Her current areas of interest include brain health in older individuals and individuals with brain injuries. She collaborates closely with advocates, consumers of health and social services, policy analysts, and researchers from a wide range of backgrounds, including engineers, medical professionals, artists, industry organizations, and peak bodies.

Research Impacts

Key Achievements in the Past 5 Years (2019-2023):

  1. Completed the "Cost of Care" project that measured the productivity and efficiency of residential aged care facilities (nursing homes) in Australia, while adjusting for quality differences. This project proposed a method to generate a composite quality index to benchmark individual facilities based on their service quality. The research findings directly contributed to the Final Recommendations by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (February 2021), which led to the development of the Star Ratings system for residential aged care facilities in Australia. This project was a collaborative effort between CHSR and the School of Economics.

  2. Conducted the "Star Ratings" project, aimed at developing a quality signaling mechanism to assist senior Australians and their representatives in making informed choices about residential aged care services. The development of Star Ratings was a direct outcome of the Cost of Care project mentioned above. The Department of Health and Aged Care partnered with CHSR, the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council (ACIITC), and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to design the Star Ratings and build a website where senior Australians and their families can access the Star Ratings system.

  3. Became an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health through a one-year onsite training with the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin. During the training, she led multiple collaborative initiatives, including a joint publication about hope and brain health, and an implementation report for the "Creativity and Well-Being for Personal and Professional Growth" initiative (a project funded by Erasmus++).

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Coursework), The University of Queensland

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

  • (2022) Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

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Publications

Book

Journal Article

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Completed Supervision

  • (2022) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • (2022) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: