Welcome

Well, where to begin. Write as much as you can, they all say. ‘They’ predominantly being my PhD supervisors and the various textbooks and guides I’ve come across. So here I am. I intend to use this blog as a space to practice and improve my writing by reflecting on my various pieces of work and my journey as a PhD student. I also plan on using this space to regurgitate whatever technical knowledge I happen to be attempting to entrench in my brain.

I don’t expect this to be an interesting blog for you, dear reader. Unless you have an interest in the lives of new and somewhat lost PhD students, there’s not much to be found here. Perhaps if, like me, you have an interest in health economics and health systems, and therefore may find my reflections interesting. If that’s the case, it’s my duty to warn you that you shouldn’t count on the technical rigour of anything I’m writing. Despite having worked in various areas of public health for around 6 years now I have to admit my grasp on basic epi and stats concepts and methods really needs some improvement. On that note, if, on the miniscule chance, you read anything I write and identify mistakes please do write and correct me. Of course, I’m aware that it is extremely unlikely that anyone will ever read anything written on this blog but that will not deter me from writing as if I am addressing some fictitious audience – that is, after all, the point of keeping this blog; to practice writing for an audience.

Lastly, just as an aside, I do not intend on revealing my identity on this blog, simply because I don’t really see any point. Suffice to say, I am approximately 8 or 9 months into my PhD, which is focused on identifying and testing appropriate incentives for community health workers in Indonesia, potentially using insights from behavioural economics. I am also working casually for my research institute on other economic evaluation projects. Despite this focus, I don’t have a background in economics (although I have completed a Bachelor Certificate in Health Economics). My interest in this stems from having worked in a LMIC in South East Asia supporting and then managing a project to harmonize different public health insurance schemes. After that, I joined a training program for early public health professionals with several rotations throughout my state Ministry of Health. I also have a number of years’ experience working with Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia.

And so, with that out of the way, let’s kick this blog off. I will attempt to provide updates on a weekly basis, at least. Enjoy