Senior Research Officer
PhD
Huong Le is a Senior Research Officer at the Western Australia’s node of the Life Course Centre, Telethon Kids Institute. She also holds academic and professional positions at UWA Public Policy Institute and The Raine Study, The University of Western Australia. She completed her PhD in Economics from The Australian National University. Her previous experience includes research and teaching positions at Curtin University, Griffith University and National Economics University of Vietnam.
She is passionate about child health and development research. She has published in high-impact journals including Health Economics, American Journal of Health Economics, Review of Income and Wealth, Journal of Population Economics, IZA Journal of Labour Economics and Journal of Asian Economics, among others. Her current research focus is using large longitudinal linked data sets to analyse socio-economics issues with focus on topics in the fields of child health and development, intergenerational transmissions in health and human capital, inequality, policy modelling and evaluations.
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Publications
April 2023
The 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 Capability 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 CapabilityJune 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 Capability Infectious Diseases Epidemiology 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 infectionsFebruary 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 CapabilityNovember 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-19November 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 infectionsJuly 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 Capability Child Physical Activity, Health and DevelopmentJune 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 Capability -
Education and Qualifications
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Awards/Honours