What attracted you to the health metrics field?
Although the majority of my undergraduate course work at the University of Virginia focused on engineering, I took courses in my final two semesters in public health policy and global health research methodologies. In these classes I became cognizant of the systemic factors, for example, educational attainment and access to health facilities, that largely determine health outcomes within a population.
The conclusion I drew from these public health courses is that the most efficient solutions to population health problems will not be derived in a laboratory setting; rather, they will be developed when systemic inequalities that contribute largely to health disparities between people of different socioeconomic status are addressed.
In this respect, the field of health metrics attracted me on two fronts: first, to apply my quantitative background and skills to more clearly define the world’s major health issues and their underlying causes, and second, to work toward accountability for the increasing funding provided to health organizations to confront these issues.
What work are you doing at IHME?
I am working on the Health Financing research team. Our team produces the Financing Global Health report annually, which provides comprehensive information for policymakers on who funds global health, which channels distribute the funding, and where is funding allocated, meaning which countries and for which purpose.
In the past, this report focused on development assistance for health from foreign sources and government health expenditure publicly financed by country governments. Our goal for the coming year is to establish country-specific estimates for out-of-pocket spending on health in developing countries by its citizens.
Given the prominence of out-of-pocket spending as a key mechanism of financing care in developing countries, these estimates will be valuable in painting a more complete picture of health financing in developing health systems.
How do you think your experience at IHME will contribute to your future work?
I don’t claim to have an exact vision of where my career will eventually lead. That said, I do expect that the quantitative skills, research experience, and global health contacts I will develop as a Post-Bachelor Fellow will provide me opportunities to inform global health decision-making.
IHME provides an environment where I can refine the quantitative skills with which I left college in a manner that will be useful in providing intelligible information to those who determine global health priorities.
Published Works
Leach-Kemon K, Chou DP, Schneider MT, Tardif A, Dieleman JL, Brooks BPC, Hanlon M, Murray CJL. The global financial crisis has led to a slowdown in growth of funding to improve health in many developing countries. Health Affairs. 2012; DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2011.1154.
