Biostatistician & Data Analyst
MA (Dev. Econ), MA (App. Stats), PhD (Econ)
Huong Le is a Biostatistician & Data Analyst in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology team, Telethon Kids Institute. She holds PhD in Economics from Australian National University, Master in Applied Statistics from Queensland University of Technology, and Master in Development Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and the National Economics University of Vietnam. She was awarded a prestigious fellowship for young researchers, The Pacific Trade and Development Fellowship for Young Scholars in 2011. In current role, she brings extensive experience supporting researchers and students in complex coding for data management and statistical analyses with focus on advanced econometric modelling and causal inference techniques.
Driven by passion for advancing child health and development, her research has been published in top journals in the health and economics fields, and through public reports. Her research result has been featured in leading media outlets. She serves regularly as an assessor for national competitive funding schemes and a reviewer for high quality academic journals. Her current research uses big data to study critical health and socioeconomics issues with focus on inequality, disease burden, vaccine impact evaluations, policy evaluations, child health and development, and intergenerational transmission of health and human capital.
Originally from Hanoi, Vietnam, she has called Australia home for the past eighteen years. Outside of her professional endeavours, she embraces the beauty of Australia’s nature and enjoys cycling with her beloved children along the picturesque Western Australian’s Swan River.
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Publications
August 2023
The causal impact of mental health on tobacco and alcohol consumption: An instrumental variables approach
The reciprocal relationship between psychiatric and substance use disorders is well-known, yet it remains largely unknown whether mental health morbidity causally leads to addictive behaviours. This paper utilises a fixed effects instrumental variables model, which is identified by time-varying sources of plausibly exogenous variations in mental health, and a nationally representative panel dataset from Australia to present robust evidence on the causal impact of mental distress on cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking behaviours.
Published research Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Mental healthAugust 2023Accuracy of self-reported private health insurance coverage
Studies on health insurance coverage often rely on measures self-reported by respondents, but the accuracy of such measures has not been thoroughly validated. This paper is the first to use linked Australian National Health Survey and administrative population tax data to explore the accuracy of self-reported private health insurance (PHI) coverage in survey data.
Published research Human Development and Community WellbeingJuly 2023Non-specific benefit of seasonal influenza vaccine on respiratory syncytial virus-hospitalisations in children: An instrumental variable approach using population-based data
Seasonal influenza vaccine is effective against influenza hospitalisations, but little is known about non-specific effects of the vaccine on other respiratory pathogens with similar seasonal patterns. We aimed to assess the causal impact of seasonal influenza vaccine on laboratory-confirmed hospitalisations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children using an instrumental variable strategy.
Published research Influenza Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Subsite: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Respiratory viral infectionsApril 2023Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines Are Protective Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus Hospitalizations in Infants: A Population-Based Observational Study
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) reduced the risk of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a randomized clinical trial. We aimed to assess the real-world effectiveness of PCV on RSV-hospitalizations among Western Australian infants.
Published research Immunisation Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Vaccine Trials Group Subsite: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Respiratory viral infectionsApril 2023The impact of weather on time allocation to physical activity and sleep of child-parent dyads
Previous studies showed that unfavourable weather conditions discourage physical activity. However, it remains unclear whether unfavourable weather conditions have a differential impact on physical activity in children compared with adults.
Published research Early Childhood Development Human Development and Community Wellbeing Child Physical Activity, Health and DevelopmentJune 2022Causal Impact of Physical Activity on Child Health and Development
The relationship between physical activity and child health and development is well-documented, yet the extant literature provides limited causal insight into the amount of physical activity considered optimal for improving any given health or developmental outcome.
Published research Early Childhood Development Human Development and Community Wellbeing Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Child Physical Activity, Health and DevelopmentAugust 2022Gender differences in time allocation contribute to differences in developmental outcomes in children and adolescents
Using over 50 thousand time-use diaries from two cohorts of children, we document significant gender differences in time allocation in the first 16 years in life. Relative to males, females spend more time on personal care, chores and educational activities and less time on physical and media related activities. These gender gaps in time allocation appear at very young ages and widen overtime.
Published research Child Health, Development & Education Early Childhood Development Human Development and Community WellbeingJuly 2021The impact of weather on time allocation to physical activity and sleep of child-parent dyads - Life Course Centre Working Paper Series 2021
This study explores the differential impact of weather on time allocation to physical activity and sleep by children and their parents. We use nationally representative data with time use indicators objectively measured on multiple occasions for more than 1,100 child-parent pairs, coupled with daily meteorological data.
Published research Human Development and Community Wellbeing Child Physical Activity, Health and DevelopmentDecember 2021Examining the entire delayed respiratory syncytial virus season in Western Australia
An interseasonal resurgence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was observed in Western Australia at the end of 2020. Our previous report describing this resurgence compared the 2019 and 2020 calendar years, capturing only part of the 2020/21 season.
Published research Influenza Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Subsite: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Respiratory viral infectionsNovember 2021The Interseasonal Resurgence of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Australian Children Following the Reduction of Coronavirus Disease 2019-Related Public
Following the end of winter, there has been a persistent absence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 community transmission and no increase in influenza detections. Limited physical distancing measures have remained in place, with largely no restrictions on gathering sizes and no mandate for wearing masks.
Published research Influenza Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Subsite: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Respiratory viral infectionsNovember 2021Interrupted time-series analysis showed unintended consequences of non-pharmaceutical interventions on paediatric hospital admissions
COVID-19-associated non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) have disrupted respiratory viral transmission. We quantified the changes in paediatric hospital admissions in 2020 from five different NPI phases in Western Australia for acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in children in the context of all-cause admissions.
Published research Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Subsite: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases COVID-19June 2021Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Public Health Measures on Detections of Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Children During the 2020 Australian Winter
Public health measures targeting coronavirus disease 2019 have potential to impact transmission of other respiratory viruses. We found 98.0% and 99.4% reductions in respiratory syncytial virus and influenza detections, respectively, in Western Australian children through winter 2020 despite schools reopening. Border closures have likely been important in limiting external introductions.
Published research Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Subsite: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases COVID-19April 2021Weather and children's time allocation
This paper presents the first causal estimates of the effect of weather on children's time allocation. It exploits exogenous variations in local weather observed during the random diary dates of two nationally representative cohorts of Australian children whose time-use diaries were surveyed biennially over 10 years.
Published research Early Childhood Development Human Development and Community WellbeingFebruary 2021Who's declining the "free lunch"? New evidence from the uptake of public child dental benefits
This study provides the first evidence on the determinants of uptake of two recent public dental benefit programs for Australian children and adolescents from disadvantaged families. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative survey linked to administrative data with accurate information on eligibility and uptake, we find that only a third of all eligible families actually claim their benefits.
Published research Academic Biostatistics Human Development and Community Wellbeing -
Education and Qualifications
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Awards/Honours