Our impact
Read about the real-world impact our research is having in New South Wales, Australia and the world.
Each year, our School conducts research that helps improve health policy and management, as well as patient outcomes and public health initiatices, across many different health settings, in Australia and around the world. Read about some of the impact our research is having in the stories below.
Our featured impact stories
Precision Cancer Clinic
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The Precision Care Initiative aims to integrate genomic research into routine cancer care and improve access to evidence-based precision cancer care nationwide.
The Precision Care Clinic service is central to this vision, designed to be accessible to oncologists and patients nationwide. The Clinic is supported by research funding, and there are no costs to patients or clinicians. Our services complement care, and patients remain under the care of their referring clinician.
Our clinical services include:
- Virtual Molecular MDT meetings to interpret molecular findings, review evidence and support treatment planning with clinically relevant summaries.
- Patient consultations (telehealth or in-person) to explain molecular findings, treatment options, and implications.
To date, the project has had:
- 260 referrals from 100 cancer centres across Australia
- 50 molecular MDT meetings
- 160 patient consultations
And we have 37 validated heritable variants, supporting informed care for patients and family members.
School of Population Health team members involved in this project:
A/Prof Natalie Taylor
Dr April MorrowMore information about this project can be found on the Precision Care Initiative website.
National Hypertension Taskforce
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High blood pressure (hypertension) is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases(e.g. heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and dementia) and deaths in Australia.
In international comparison Australia is doing poorly in the control of blood pressure - only about 40% of those with hypertension are controlled, compared to 68% in Canada.
Improving blood pressure is the most effective way to improve health and save lives in our communities - and save many billions of AUD in the long run.
The Hypertension Taskforce was established in 2022, with a goal to see blood pressure control rise to 70% by the year 2030. It has established three pillars through which it will work to achieve its goal:
Pillar A: prevent the development of hypertension across the nation
Pillar B: detect raised blood pressure through screening programs
Pillar C: diagnose and treat hypertension effectively to ensure it is controlled
The Taskforce released its Roadmap, outlining the key actions within each of these pillars, in 2024.
School of Population Health team members involved in this project are:
Prof Alta SchutteYou can read more about the Taskforce on their website
Pharmacology for domestic violence
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ReINVEST: a pharmacotherapy-based intervention to reduce domestic violence offending
BACKGROUND
- ReINVEST is a world’s first double-blind, placebo controlled, randomised trial to investigate if treatment with a common antidepressant (sertraline) can reduce violence and domestic violence offending in men with convictions for violence and domestic violence and highly impulsive.
- Current perpetrator focussed interventions are ineffective with a poor evidence base in this area.
- Over the past decade, a UNSW-based research team conducted the trial, recruiting men primarily through magistrates’ courts, community corrections offices, and related referral pathways. Following screening for medical suitability, participants were randomised to receive either sertraline or placebo and followed for 12 months, with the option to continue beyond one year. All randomised study participants received extensive ‘wraparound’ supports during their contact with the investigating team.
- A total of 630 men were randomised (319 sertraline; 311 placebo).
KEY OUTCOMES
- No overall effect of sertraline treatment on general violent offending in the main analysis.
- 21% reduction in domestic violence reoffending at 24 months (determine by linkage to court records).
- 30% reduction in domestic violence reoffending in participants with higher adherence to the medication
- 44% reduction in recurrent domestic violence offending at 24 months
- 51% reduction in domestic violence reoffending in those most adherent participants versus less adherent
- Significant improvements in behavioural measures - depression, psychological distress, anger, irritability, impulsivity - during the pre-randomisation 4-week active run-in phase when all received sertraline
- Participation in ReINVEST itself was associated with lower domestic violence reoffending compared with an eligible but non-randomised comparison group: a 26% reduction in the placebo group and a 45% reduction in the sertraline group relative to controls.
- The ReINVEST model included health, welfare, and justice system navigation, delivered through comprehensive, non-judgmental, and trauma-informed support. Many participants had previously ‘fallen through the cracks’ of existing services.
- Qualitative data highlighted that participants valued the independence of the trial clinicians.
- 96% of partners reported maintained or increased safety based on independent qualitative research.
- Excellent safety profile - more serious adverse events detected in the placebo group.
- Economic analysis suggests $58,200 in taxpayer savings for every domestic violence offence prevented.
- Scaling to 1,500 participants (NSW model) would generate $17.6 million in net government savings over 5 years.
- National scale-up to 120,000 domestic violence perpetrators would save Australia $399 million annually, excluding personal costs
CONCLUSIONS
- ReINVEST represents a paradigm shift in domestic violence prevention by directly targeting those responsible for domestic violence perpetration.
- The trial demonstrates that pharmacotherapy is effective in reducing domestic violence offending, particularly when combined with wraparound supports.
- ReINVEST is both effective and cost-saving, making it a strong candidate for scale-up as a core component of Australia’s domestic violence prevention ecosystem.
- A comprehensive and realistic implementation plan has been developed, drawing on more than 15 years of experience working with men who use violence.
More inspiring impact stories
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GLP-1 medicines are transforming treatment for obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. While demand is booming, rapid uptake has outpaced health system readiness – leading to medicine shortages, challenges in providing equitable access, and uncertainties around long-term safety and models of care.
The Cardiometabolic Group in the Medicines Intelligence Research Program use whole-of-population data to understand real-world use of GLP-1 and other cardiometabolic medicines in routine health care. This evidence is needed by policymakers to design long-term models of care, as well as patients and clinicians to navigate treatment decisions.
Our research has generated the first national estimates of private market access to GLP-1 medicines, mapped stark geographic variation in uptake among people with diabetes, and identified major disruptions to long-term diabetes therapy at the time of hospitalisation.
Our ultimate goal is to support safe and equitable access to novel cardiometabolic therapies - ensuring the clinical benefits reach the people who need it the most.
Read more about our work in medicines intelligence here.
Media articles about this research
Common diabetes medicine regularly discontinued following hospitalisation
Half a million Australians are regularly using GLP-1 medicines
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Researchers at the SPH investigated the outcomes experienced by Aboriginal people who live in urban areas, after attending a 'cultural camp' held on a Yuwaalaraay sacred site in New South Wales.
Attendees participated in a yarning circle, where their experiences as survivors or descendants of the stolen generation.
Research findings highlight the importance of sensory-led experiences on Country for older urban Aboriginal peoples. This aligned with previous research on the ‘therapeutic’ aspects of culture and natural landscapes minimally impacted by colonisation.
This research was subsequently cited in the Australian Government's National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2025, which guides policy and funding.
Further reading
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Emergency departments move fast. Good care depends on staff and patients understanding each other quickly and clearly. In Australia's multicultural communities, that understanding can break down. When a patient can't explain their symptoms in English, treatment may be slower, or the wrong call may be made.
TRIBOT is an AI tool designed to close that gap. Built by researchers at UNSW with partner institutions and industry, it learns how emergency-care language works, so that staff and patients can talk to each other with speed and accuracy, even when they don't share a language.
The stakes are high. Better communication means safer care, a better experience for patients and a department that runs more smoothly.
The program has attracted close to $1.6 million in support from the NHMRC, including two CSIRO Industry PhD scholarships.
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In rural and remote part of Fiji, Community Health Workers are often the first — and sometimes the only — link between local communities and the health system often providing basic health needs focussed on prevention. As the country’s population has aged and the disease burden has changed, CHWs are being asked to do more than ever: help manage a rising tide of diabetes and hypertension in addition to providing care for maternal and child health and infectious diseases. This is occurring at a time when many trained nurses are leaving for jobs overseas. The problem was that most of these health workers had never been given the training to take on that bigger role.
Researchers from the UNSW School of Population Health and The George Institute for Global Health teamed up with Fiji's Ministry of Health and Medical Services, with funding from the Fiji Facility, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), to solve this challenge. Instead of designing a training program in an office and handing it down, they went to the health workers first.
Through interviews, focus groups, and conversations with supervisors and officials, the team listened to what these frontline workers actually deal with day to day — the long distances, the thin resources, the growing list of health problems they're expected to handle. Those stories shaped everything that came next.
Government and health leaders then worked side by side with the health workers to build a new training program from the ground up — agreeing on what skills mattered most and shaping a curriculum built around Fiji's own realities. Because the people who would use the training helped create it, they were invested in seeing it succeed. The process also shaped some policy recommendations to improve the working conditions for CHWs.
The result is more than a new course. It's a health workforce with a stronger voice in the system it serves, and a primary health care system built with communities rather than simply for them — a model for a healthier future in Fiji.
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Over the past decade, researchers from the Justice Health Research Program have undertaken a series of studies to examine the association between severe mental illness and offending behaviour.
One such study used population-level linked data determined that diverting individuals under the Mental Health Act with psychosis, appearing in NSW local courts had a 12% lower rate of re-offending compared to those handed punitive sanctions such as fines, bonds or community orders. This work was expanded to show that access to mental health treatment within thirty days following an offence reduced reoffending by 17%.
These findings drove legislative reform, underpinning the NSW Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Bill 2020 and expanding access to court-ordered diversion via the NSW Statewide Community and Court Liaison Scheme (SCCLS). The NSW Attorney General cited this work in his address to parliament presenting the legislation:
"A 2019 study conducted by the Kirby Institute of the University of NSW showed that, among those with a serious mental illness receiving a treatment order by the court rather than a punitive sanction, the reoffending rate was 12% lower than the punitive sanction group."
Given the importance of data-linkage findings and their potential to refine support for individuals with psychosis in the justice system, this work has been expanded by adding several new data collections to the linkage in order to answer critical questions around mental health care during incarceration and post-release transition into the community.
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Across many lower-income countries, people in rural areas struggle to get basic health care, while hospitals and clinics face a shortage of doctors and nurses. Our research team partnered with the World Health Organization and international collaborators to find practical ways to close that gap.
One major piece of this work was a large-scale review of 149 studies from 31 countries, looking at a simple question: can simple tasks usually done by doctors — like managing uncomplicated diabetes, high blood pressure, and some mental health conditions — be safely handled by nurses and community health workers instead? The answer, in more than 80% of the studies, was yes: shifting some of that responsibility improved patient outcomes and was often more cost-effective. It's strong evidence that well-trained frontline workers can deliver real, lasting care in places doctors rarely reach.
We also examined how six Southeast Asian countries used a WHO staffing tool to identify health worker shortages. While the tool reliably revealed workforce gaps, most countries struggled to act on it — lacking data systems and funding. The findings are helping governments strengthen workforce planning before scaling up.
Across South-East Asia, diabetes is one of the fastest-growing health threats, yet many primary care clinics still lack the tools to catch it early. Drawing on years of World Diabetes Foundation–funded research in the region, our UNSW team was tasked with evaluating what works in under-resourced health systems. Their findings now feed into a new World Health Organization report, which distils real-world lessons from seven countries — Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste — into practical guidance for frontline health workers. It shows how integrating diabetes screening into primary care, training community health workers, and using simple digital tools can bring life-saving treatment closer to home, helping the region move toward shared diabetes targets. That research has since fed into WHO's regional guidance on preventing and managing diabetes, helping health officials use proven service models from the region.
Altogether, this work is helping shape the policies and programs that bring quality care closer to home, strengthen health workforces, and move countries closer to universal health coverage.
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Photos by Juan Arredondo
Improving a country's health often begins with a deceptively simple question: do we know how many people are dying and what they are dying from? Without reliable answers, governments end up guessing — misdirecting funding, missing new health threats, and unable to tell whether their programs are working.
Our team, with the financial support of Bloomberg Philanthropies and CDC Foundation, partnered with governments in the Philippines, India, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands to address this issue. Using methods like verbal autopsy — a structured way of determining cause of death when someone dies outside a hospital — we helped these countries build a clearer picture of what's actually killing people, in hospitals and in communities alike.
The impact has been significant. In Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, better death records revealed that chronic diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes were killing far more people than health officials had realized. That discovery pushed governments to invest more heavily in prevention, screening, and treatment for these conditions.
In Solomon Islands and India, stronger death-reporting systems and better-trained local staff have given policymakers the evidence they need to track the nation's health over time, spot inequities between regions, and put resources where they'll do the most good.
By making sure every death is properly counted and understood, this work helps governments make sharper decisions — and ultimately, save more lives.
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Photos by Juan Arredondo
For people living in remote villages across Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, managing a condition like diabetes or high blood pressure is far harder than it should be. Long travel times, an overstretched health workforce, and limited services mean these conditions often go undiagnosed until it's too late — raising the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and early death.
Through the RESist-NCD program, a partnership between UNSW's School of Population Health, with The George Institute for Global Health and Clinton Health Access Initiative, is working with governments, health services, and local partners to change that — bringing diabetes and hypertension care directly into villages instead of requiring people to travel for it. The program, funded by the Australian Government Partnerships for a Healthy Region Initiative, helps countries adopt proven models of care, catch disease earlier through better screening, train local health workers, and fold chronic disease management into everyday primary care.
By focusing on care at the village level, the program means people can get ongoing monitoring and treatment without leaving their community. It's also strengthening the health system more broadly — improving how workers are trained, how data is used, and how care is delivered — so progress lasts.
Through this partnership, UNSW is helping build health systems in the region that can better prevent, catch, and treat chronic disease — improving life for thousands of families across the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
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Because of overcapacity in prisons, infectious diseases transmission in prisons is a concern. Prison cell spatial density (that is, the square metres of cell floor area allocated per person) is a key public health issue.
Our research on infectious disease risks associated with prison crowding informed revisions to the NSW Public Health Regulation 2012, establishing minimum cell sizes in new prisons and making NSW the first jurisdiction globally to legislate international standards.
These reforms enabled the NSW Government to avoid an estimated $400M in remediation costs and commit to phasing out small cells.
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Four Legal Aid NSW-commissioned expert reports (2020–21) informed lawyers' sentencing submissions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were relied upon in Supreme and District Court bail and sentencing decisions. Legal Aid reported these reports contributed to an almost 10% reduction in the NSW prison population during the first 18 months of the pandemic without an increase in crime. Citation of this research in the influential Bugmy Bar Book demonstrates national impact, with findings informing an authoritative resource that supports sentencing courts and legal practitioners to consider the complex social and health circumstances affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Our infectious disease research was also cited in:
- Communicable Diseases Network Australia clinical guidelines,
- WHO guidance,
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control policy,
- UK Parliamentary Office reports, and
- other international guidance.
A medical student research trainee (Dr Dahiya), developed a risk matrix for airborne infectious diseases in prisons that was adopted as a reference tool in the WHO London Conclusions toolkit (pp.15–16) to support governments in protecting the health of the 11 million people incarcerated worldwide.
Collectively, this work, by influencing legislation, judicial practice, legal advocacy and international best practice delivered significant immediate health impacts in Australia (particularly in NSW) for those at risk of imprisonment and provides transformative future health impacts among global custodial health populations.