JCU > Research Portfolio > A/Prof Stephanie Topp

About

Dr. Stephanie Topp is an A/Prof. in Global Health and Development in the College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences and an Associate Research Fellow at the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne. She has 15 years’ experience working as a health systems practitioner and researcher in low-income settings, including PNG, India, South Africa and Zambia. She has a Masters in International Public Health (University of Sydney); a MPhil Development Studies (Oxford University), and a PhD in Global Health (University Melbourne).

Steph is the Associate Editor for Health Systems with BMJ Global Health and a member of the Board of Directors for Health Systems Global. She is co-convenor of the Global Health Policy Research Forum (@GlobalHPR) and immediate past-chair of the Health Systems Global thematic working group on social science research (SHAPES). Steph is a regular contributer to the International Health Policies Blog and a member of the Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine and the Anton Breinl Centre for Health Systems Strengthening. She was previously a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Health Care Organization and Policy unit, School of Public Health, University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB). Steph previously held a Career Development Fellowship with the Hot North Collaboration, and holds a current NHMRC Early Leadership Investigator fellowship.

BLOGS and MEDIA

Jul 2020: Health Systems Governance Collaborative Webinar - Towards Equity, Full Agency and Greater Cultural Awareness. Part of the Building the Reset initiative.
Jul 2020: CRC NA Press Release: The Northern Australia health service delivery situational analysis report is the first pan-northern assessment of issues and priorities for health service delivery.
Feb 2020: International Health Politices: Power and politics: the case for linking resilience to health system governance.
Jan 2019: Health Policy and Planning Blog: Top 10 Cited & Top 10 Downloaded papers 2018
Dec 2018: nam AIDSMap: Ten reasons people stop attending HIV care in Zambia
Dec 2018: International Health Policies: Social Science Researchers' Musings on Power and Health Systems.
Oct 2018: Health Systems Global Blogs: Revisiting Power and Global Health: Looking ahead to HSR2018 in Liverpool
Aug 2018: JCU Brighter: Buying power: What's trendy for international health donors.
Jul 2018: BuzzFeed: Australians With Mental Health Conditions Have a Really hard Time Accessing Medical Care Compared with Everyone Else
Jun 2017: International Health Policies: Preparation! Emergency! Recovery! Is resilience silently reshaping our approach to health system strengthening?
Jun 2017: International Health Policies: 'Lackeys or liberators' revisited: community health workers and health system accountability.
Mar 2017: International Health Policies - Where's the complexity: reflections on the aims of the Lancet Global Commission on High Quality Health systems.
Mar 2016: Health System Global Blogs - Critiquing the concept of resilience in health systems.
Feb 2016: International Health Policies - Working with what we've got - another reflection on human resources for health
Oct 2015: International Health Policies - We must move beyond the pay vs. no pay debate for community health workers
Feb 2016: Health Systems Global Blogs - The role of health systems and policy research in supporting reform for women prisoners.
Jul 2016: Health Policy and Planning Debated - Prisoner Health in Zambia: what does a systems-thinking approach reveal?
May 2015: Zambia Daily Mail - Zambia prisons health system receives boost
Feb 2014: Sydney Morning Herald - Containing infection in Zambian Prisons

Teaching

TM5502: Tropical Public Health (Level 5; TSV)
TM5552: Global Health and Development (Level 5; TSV)
TM5578: Emerging Public Health Threats (Level 5; TSV)

Interests

Professional

Board of Directors, Health Systems Global (2020 - 2024)
Associate Editor, Health Systems: BMJ Global Health (2016-ongoing)
External Advisory Group: Optimizing Momentum Toward Sustainable Epidemic Control program, ICAP at Columbia (2017-2020)
Co-Chair: Social Sciences Thematic Working Group, Health Systems Global (2017-2021)
Expert Panel: STOP TB Key & Vulnerable Population Guides / and Guides to Effective Case Finding (2015-2018)
Expert Reviewer: UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (2014-ongoing)
Publication Mentor (2018): WHO Alliance for Health Systems and Policy Research - Women in Publication mentorship scheme

Research

Health Systems
Human Resources for Health
Governance & Accountability

Teaching

Global health
Health policy
Health systems

Experience

2020 - Consultant, World Health Organization (Townsville / Geneva)
2019 - Associate Professor, James Cook University (Townsville)
2017 to 2019 - Consultant, University of North Carolina (UNC) (Townsville / Malawi)
2015 to 2018 - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
2017 - Consultant, World Health Organisation (Townsville / Myanmar)
2012 to 2015 - Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Alabama (Birmingham) (Zambia)
2008 to 2010 - Program Manager, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (Zambia)

Research Disciplines

Honours

Awards

2020 to 2021 - (Primary Investigator) Hot North - $36,000 - Project Grant: Who's steering the ship? A case comparison of the governance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers across Northern Australia
2020 - Deans Awards for Teaching and Subject Excellence for Global Health and Development, College of Public Health Medical and Vet Sciences, James Cook University
2020 - Overall Discipline Winner, Award for Research Excellence, Public Health and Tropical Medicine
2019 - Overall College Winner, Early Career Researcher Excellence, College of Public Health Medical and Vet Sciences, James Cook University
2019 - QLD Young Tall Poppy Award
2018 - (Primary Investigator) JCU Rising Star Award - $15,000
2018 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $9814 - Embedding Career Development in Post Graduate Public Health
2017 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $2650 - External Peer Review of Teaching, TM5502 Tropical Public Health
2017 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $9500 - Mapping the Post Graduate Journey
2017 - (Co-Investigator) Learning & Teaching Grant - $9857 - Transforming Assessment Practices In Public Health
2017 - (Lead) Research Consultancy - USD50,000 - WHO Myanmar, Development of Health Workforce Strategy 2018-2021
2004 to 2006 - NSW Rhodes Scholar

Fellowships

2020 to 2025 - NHMRC Early Leadership Investigator Fellowship ($561,000)
2019 - Hot North Career Development Fellowship ($90,000)
2013 - Emerging Voices for Global Health, Institute for Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp.
2011 to 2012 - Doctoral Fellowship, Population Council Zambia
2007 to 2008 - HIVCorps Fellow, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia

Memberships

2012 to 2020 - Health Systems Global
2008 to 2020 - International AIDS Society

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Fox H, Topp S, Lindsay D and Callander E (in press) A cascade of interventions: a classification tree analysis of the determinants of primary cesareans in Australian public hospitals. Birth, , DOI:10.1111/birt.12530.
Allen T, Crouch A and Topp S (in press) Community participation and empowerment approaches to Aedes mosquito management in high-income countries: a scoping review. Health Promotion International, , DOI:10.1093/heapro/daaa049.
Beres L, Schwartz S, Simbeza S, McGready J, Eshun-Wilson I, Mwamba C, Sikombe K, Topp S, Somwe P, Mody A, Mukamba N, Ehrenkranz P, Padian N, Pry J, Moore C, Holmes C, Sikazwe I, Denison J and Geng E (in press) Patterns and predictors of incident return to HIV care among traced, disengaged patients in Zambia. JAIDS, , DOI:10.1097/QAI.0000000000002554.
Callander E and Topp S (2020) Health inequality in the tropics and its costs: a Sustainable Development Goals alert. International Health, 12 (5), pp. 395-410, DOI:10.1093/inthealth/ihz112.
Callander E, Topp S, Fox H and Corscadden L (2020) Out-of-pocket expenditure on health care by Australian mothers: lessons for maternal universal health coverage from a long-established system. Birth, 47 (1), pp. 49-56, DOI:10.1111/birt.12457.
Corscadden L, Callander E, Topp S and Watson D (in press) Disparities in experiences of emergency department care for people with a mental health condition. Australasian Emergency Care, , DOI:10.1016/j.auec.2020.05.008.
Corscadden L, Callander E, Topp S and Watson D (2020) Experiences of maternity care in New South Wales among women with mental health conditions. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 20, Article: 286, DOI:10.1186/s12884-020-02972-2.
Dawes N and Topp S (in press) Senior management characteristics that influence care quality in aged care homes: a global scoping review. International Journal of Healthcare Management, , DOI:10.1080/20479700.2019.1692763.
Edelman A, Grundy J, Larkins S, Topp S, Atkinson D, Patel B, Strivens E, Moodley N and Whittaker M (2020) Health service delivery and workforce in northern Australia: a scoping review. Rural and Remote Health, 20 (4), DOI:10.22605/RRH6168.
Elliott L, Daglish S and Topp S (2020) Health taxes on tobacco, alcohol, food and drinks in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review of policy content, actors, process and context. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, , DOI:10.34172/ijhpm.2020.170.
Herce M, Hoffmann C, Fielding K, Topp S, Hausler H, Chimoyi L, Smith H, Chetty-Makan C, Mukora R, Tlali M, Olivier A, Muyoyeta M, Reid S and Charalambous S (2020) Universal test-and-treat in Zambian and South African correctional facilities: a multisite prospective cohort study. The Lancet HIV, 7 (12), pp. e807-e816, DOI:10.1016/S2352-3018(20)30188-0.
Mukamba N, Beres L, Mwamba C, Law J, Topp S, Simbeza S, Sikombe K, Padian N, Holmes C, Geng E and Sikazwe I (2020) How might improved estimates of HIV programme outcomes influence practice? A formative study of evidence, dissemination and response. Health Research Policy and Systems, 18, Article: 121, DOI:10.1186/s12961-020-00640-7.

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 82+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Stephanie Topp from 2010 onwards.

Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

CRC for Developing Northern Australia Scheme - Projects

Integrating Health Care Planning for Health and Prosperity in North Queensland

Indicative Funding: $750,000 over 3 years, in partnership with Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre Limited ($330,000)
Summary: Improving health and prosperity across Northern Australia is constrained by planning silos and limited creativity in models-of-care. North Queensland (NQ) has a unique opportunity to unite health industry partners and improve efficiencies and effectiveness in service delivery. Building on findings from our Health Situational Analysis we will co-create integrated systems for mapping population need, health services and workforce, prioritising areas for action. This work brings together key public and private health system partners across North Queensland, including Hospital and Health Services, Primary Health Networks and the Community Controlled Health Sector to take a regional approach to strengthening the integration of care and place-based planning of workforce and service implementation in North Queensland. The organizational recognition of the Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC) streamlines these relationships. We will work with all TAAHC partners, plus QAIHC and WQPHN to take a regional approach in NQ, whilst working with expert technical reference group members from NT and WA to ensure shared learning across the north. Then, working closely with service providers and consumers we will facilitate place-based planning and design, implement and evaluate new models-of-care that will optimise health and economic outcomes, consumer and workforce satisfaction.
Investigators: Sarah Larkins, Stephanie Topp, Alex Edelman, Nishila Moodley, Edward Strivens and Maxine Whittaker (College of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Public Health, Medical & Vet Sciences and Cairns & Hinterland Health Service District)

National Health & Medical Research Council - Investigator Grants

Health system governance and tuberculosis control in the Torres Strait: an institutional analysis

Indicative Funding: $561,800 over 5 years
Summary: Using institutional analysis, the project will address a gap in knowledge regarding the nature and robustness of health system governance for tuberculosis (TB) control in the Torres Strait Protected Zone. The Torres Strait Protected Zone is an area of strategic public health importance due to high rates of TB and multi-drug resistant TB and proximity to Papua New Guinea where the disease is endemic. The project will identify and characterise the role(s) of different stakeholders and evaluate the formal and informal rules that drive TB-related decisions in this unique cross-border region. In doing so, it will deliver critical insights into the resilience and adaptive capacity of health system responses to TB, and produce recommendations to strengthen governance capabilities to counter existing and emerging communicable disease threats.
Investigators: Stephanie Topp (College of Public Health and Medical & Vet Sciences)

Menzies School of Health Research - HOT NORTH - Project Grant

Who?s steering the ship? A case comparison of the governance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers across Northern Australia

Indicative Funding: $36,500 over 2 years
Summary: Using a qualitative cross-case design, this project will expand on current Queensland-based work to address this gap in knowledge by exploring the governance arrangements that shape the work practices of A&TSIHW across both Queensland and the Northern Territory. Continuing the first systematic work relating to A&TSIHW governance carried out in Queensland as part of a 2019 with Hot North support, this project will: a) extend the project scope and characterize both the formal and informal rules and norms that influence A&TSIHW roles in the Top End Health Service of the NT, and b) through cross-case analysis of QLD and NT data, develop new insights into the influence of different geographic, social and administrative structures on A&TSIHW performance. The outcomes are expected to support efforts to strengthen Indigenous health workforce planning across Northern Australia.
Investigators: Stephanie Topp in collaboration with Josslyn Tully and Sean Taylor (College of Public Health, Medical & Vet Sciences, Torres & Cape Hospital & Health Service and Top End Health Service)
Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander He; Health Systems; Remote and Rural; Health Workforce; Governance; Northern Australia

The Global Fund - Contract Research

Allocative efficiency modelling to support National TB programs

Indicative Funding: $191,260 over 4 years
Summary: Tuberculosis (TB) has now been unequivocally identified as the world's leading infectious killer, with global control failing to make significant inroads into the huge burden of disease. TB in Australia is driven by this huge global burden, with around 60% of all TB cases occurring in our region and nearly 90% of Australia's cases occurring in the overseas born. Our group has an established track record of undertaking country-level simulations to better understand TB epidemiology and predict the effectiveness of programmatic interventions in the local context. These applications are linked to a program of theoretical and epidemiological research to improve understanding of TB transmission and strengthen model underpinnings. Recently, we have been working to develop our model into a flexible and robust platform by using principles of software engineering, including object-oriented and modular programming. This approach allows rapid adaptation of our tool ("AuTuMN") to new objectives without the need to modify many of the constituent modules. In this project, we will extend the AuTuMN structures to undertake country implementations in up to six additional countries, funded by The Global Fund Against AIDS, Malaria and tuberculosis (TGF). These countries are: Myanmar Timor L'este The Kingdom of Bhutan Cambodia The Philippines Sri Lanka This RFAF is an indicative budget, as airfares and other direct costs will only be paid upon submission of receipts. Additionally, TGF produces contracts in US dollar amounts so amounts below are subject to change. Which of the above countries elect to undertake this work has not yet been determineJCU will administer the grant but University of Melbourne and Monash University will send invoices for work undertaken as part of this grant.
Investigators: Emma McBryde, R Ragonnet, Nhut Tan Doan, James Trauer and Stephanie Topp in collaboration with Ross McLeod, Damon Eisen, Jennifer Ho, Tanya Diefenbach-Elstob, Kathryn Snow and Bosco Ho (Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, College of Public Health, Medical & Vet Sciences, College of Medicine & Dentistry and Queensland Health)
Keywords: Tuberculosis; mathematical modelling; international health; disease simulation

Menzies School of Health Research - HOT NORTH Fellowship

Rhetoric to Reality: how the governance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers impacts chronic disease prevention and care in Northern Australia

Indicative Funding: $90,709 over 1 year
Summary: This project will explore the governance arrangements that shape the work practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers (A&TSIHW) in two government services in far North Queensland and the Northern Territory respectively. As the first systematic work relating to A&TSIHW governance the project aims to characterize both the formal and informal rules and norms that influence A&TSIHW roles, and develop new insights into the influence of different geographic, social and administrative structures on A&TSIHW performance. The outcomes are expected to support efforts to strengthen Indigenous health workforce planning across Northern Australia.
Investigators: Stephanie Topp (College of Public Health and Medical & Vet Sciences)
Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander He; Health Systems; Remote and rural health areas; Governance; Accountability

Cancer Council NSW - Strategic Research Partnership Grant

Identifying the Out of Pocket costs of cancer care and the impact on healthcare access and patient outcomes - STREP Ca-CindaA

Indicative Funding: $121,160 over 1 year (administered by Menzies School of Health Research)
Summary: AIM 1: Quantify the out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure of individuals who are diagnosed with cancer and compare it with their clinical outcomes. This will be done by building Australia?s first model of the out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure of cancer patients using administrative data. AIM 2: Identify the impact of out-of-pocket costs on decisions about health care utilisation. This qualitative research component will be undertaken, which aims to explore and explain how out-of-pocket costs (both anticipated and unanticipated) affect the health seeking decisions and behaviours of cancer patients and their families.
Investigators: Sabe Sabesan, Emily Callander, Sarah Larkins and Stephanie Topp (College of Medicine & Dentistry, Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, College of Public Health and Medical & Vet Sciences)
Keywords: Health Economics; Patient costs; Cancer; Indigenous; Rural Health; Access

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - Grant

Differentiated care for improved health systems efficiency and health outcomes in Zambia (Efficient Health)

Indicative Funding: $118,491 over 2 years (administered by Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia)
Summary: Over the last decade, successful roll out of antiretroviral theraph (ART) for HIV infected individuals in Zambia has resulted in over 600,000 adults and children accessing treatment. However, continued scale-up of treatment services is severely straining already overburdened health centres and hospitals. Working with the Government of the Republic of Zambia, this project will conduct formative and operations research to build a body of evidence on the needs for preferences perceptions and feasibility of further decentralised, community-based ART services.
Investigators: Charles Holmes, Izukanji Sikazwe and Stephanie Topp in collaboration with Carolyn Bolton, Crispin Moyo, Bushimbwa Tambatamba, Mwanza wa Mwanza, Arianna Zanolini, Richard Mutemwa, Elvin Geng, Nancy Padian, Monika Roy, Henry Epino and Nancy Czaicki (Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Ministry of Health, GRZ, University of California - San Francisco, Harvard University, College of Public Health and Medical & Vet Sciences)
Keywords: HIV care and treatment; Health Services; Service delivery; Antiretroviral therapy; Engagement in care

Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia - Contract Research

Treatment as Prevention in Correctional Facilities in Southern Africa (TasP Prisons)

Indicative Funding: $72,176 over 2 years
Summary: Limited data from Southern Africa suggest that concentration of HIV-infected individuals and high-risk sexual behaviours in correctional facilities may be driving HIV transmission in incarcerated populations. Despite the implications of incarceration - related HIV transmission on individual and public health, little evidence exists to guide implementation of HIV prevention strategies in these settings. One such strategy, Treatment as Prevention (TasP), offers promise to: (1) prevent HIV transmission among incarcerated men having sex with men and people who use drugs; and (2) improve inmate health and tuberculosis control. In this project we will implement TasP in three correctional facilities - one in Zambia and two in South Africa - and evaluate TasP implementation as a strategy to coordinate the HIV care continuum and assure appropriate TB assessment among HIV-infected inmates.
Investigators: Stephanie Topp, Stewart Reid and Monde Myoyeta in collaboration with Michael Herce, Crispin Moyo, Chileshe Chisela, Sisa Hatwiinda, German Henostroza, Salome Charalambous and Katherine Fielding (College of Public Health, Medical & Vet Sciences, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Ministry of Health, GRZ, Zambia Prisons Service, University of Alabama - Birmingham, The Aurum Institute and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Keywords: HIV Care & Treatment; Prison Health Services; Service Delivery; Antiretroviral Therapy; Anti-Tuberculosis Therapy

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

The Engagement and Participation of Faith based Organizations in the Health System Reforms in Soloman Islands (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Gender Equity in Health Services and the Economics of Childbearing (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
An Investigation on the Impacts of Social Exclusion on the Health and Well-being of Niger Delta Communities in Nigeria (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
Variance in Policy Adoption in the Pacific: The case for Context-Specific NCD Prevention and Control Measures and the role of the NCD Best Buys (PhD , Primary Advisor)
Assessing primary health service capacity to prevent and control non-communicable diseases in the Kingdom of Bhutan; a healthy policy and systems analysis (PhD , Primary Advisor)
Health management practices tha empower high performing residential aged care facilities (PhD , Primary Advisor)
Strengthening community empowerment approaches to Aedes species mosquito management in a high-income country setting: comparative case studies within Queensland, Australia. (PhD , Primary Advisor)
The role of Academic Health Centres in improving population health: a multiple-case study in Australia and the United Kingdom ;; (PhD , Primary Advisor)

Completed

Disparities in experiences of access to care for Australians with mental health conditions (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.