Artificial Intelligence at UQ

Professor Rhema Vaithianathan

Professor of Health Economics at AUT
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Rhema Vaithianathan is a Professor of Health Economics and Director of the Centre for Social Data Analytics (CSDA), a translational research centre located in the School of Social Sciences and Public Policy, in the Faculty of Culture and Society, at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), New Zealand.

Researcher biography

Rhema Vaithianathan is a Professor of Social Data Analytics at the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Queensland. She is also Director of the Centre for Social Data Analytics at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, where she is a Professor of Economics. Rhema is recognised internationally for translational research that uses data analytics for social good. She has been working with health data and collaborating with hospitals and health policy agencies for over 25 years, including work on indigenous health and disparities.

Rhema has a strong interest in the use of predictive analytics to support decision making in health and human services. Her work in this areas includes building hospital readmission risk tools and leading the international research team that developed, and continues to refine, the Allegheny Family Screening Tool, a child welfare predictive risk modelling tool for Allegheny County, PA (United States). Rhema is currently working on a range of predictive risk modelling projects with US state and county agencies.

Rhema is also very interested in using linked administrative data and novel data to evaluate programmes that are designed to improve outcomes and reduce disparities for vulnerable populations. In New Zealand she has evaluated several major health and social services programmes. Recent studies using administrative data have explored the cumulative prevalence of maltreatment, rates of injury and mortality among children identified as being at high risk of maltreatment, and protective factors that may allow some children to 'beat the odds' of experiencing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Rhema is Director of the Singapore Life Panel, a large population-representative monthly survey run from Singapore Management University that looks at how well-prepared Singaporeans are for the demands and risks associated with ageing. She has held numerous research positions in Australia, Singapore and the United States, including a Harkness Fellowship at Harvard University.

Featured projects Duration
Data for action in government
Predictive risk modelling to support prioritisation of urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled primary healthcare services
Protecting children

Publications

Journal Articles (44)
Conference Paper (1)
Working Paper (1)
Research Reports (5)

Journal Articles

Tennakoon, Gayani, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Pope, Samantha L., Shiels, Zoe E., Butler, Danielle C. and Turner, Lyle (2024). Using predictive risk modelling to identify patients with hidden health needs in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health service. Australian journal of general practice, 53 (3), 152-156. doi: 10.31128/AJGP-01-23-6661
Tennakoon, Gayani, Byrne, Enda M., Vaithianathan, Rhema and Middeldorp, Christel M. (2023). Using electronic health record data to predict future self‐harm or suicidal ideation in young people treated by child and youth mental health services. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 53 (5), 853-869. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12988
Gilholm, Patricia, Gibbons, Kristen, Brüningk, Sarah, Klatt, Juliane, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Long, Debbie, Millar, Johnny, Tomaszewski, Wojtek, Schlapbach, Luregn J., Ganeshalingam, Anusha, Sherring, Claire, Erickson, Simon, Barr, Samantha, Raman, Sainath, Long, Debbie, Schlapbach, Luregn, Gibbons, Kristen, George, Shane, Singh, Puneet, Smith, Vicky, Butt, Warwick, Delzoppo, Carmel, Millar, Johnny, Gelbart, Ben, Oberender, Felix, Ganu, Subodh, Letton, Georgia, Festa, Marino, Harper, Gail and the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Centre for Outcomes & Resource Evaluation (CORE) and ANZICS Paediatric Study Group (ANZICS PSG) (2023). Machine learning to predict poor school performance in paediatric survivors of intensive care: a population-based cohort study. Intensive Care Medicine, 49 (7), 785-795. doi: 10.1007/s00134-023-07137-1
Sadiq, Shazia, Aryani, Amir, Demartini, Gianluca, Hua, Wen, Indulska, Marta, Burton-Jones, Andrew, Khosravi, Hassan, Benavides-Prado, Diana, Sellis, Timos, Someh, Ida, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Wang, Sen and Zhou, Xiaofang (2022). Information resilience: the nexus of responsible and agile approaches to information use. The VLDB Journal, 31 (5), 1059-1084. doi: 10.1007/s00778-021-00720-2
Vaithianathan, Rhema, Benavides-Prado, Diana, Dalton, Erin, Chouldechova, Alexandra and Putnam-Hornstein, Emily (2021). Using a machine learning tool to support high-stakes decisions in child protection. AI Magazine, 42 (1), 53-60. doi: 10.1002/j.2371-9621.2021.tb00011.x
Vaithianathan, Rhema, Putnam-Hornstein, Emily, Chouldechova, Alexandra, Benavides-Prado, Diana and Berger, Rachel (2020). Hospital injury encounters of children identified by a predictive risk model for screening child maltreatment referrals evidence from the Allegheny family screening tool. JAMA Pediatrics, 174 (11), 1-6. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.2770
Hockey, Peter, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Baeker, Agnes, Beer, Freddy, Goodall, Amanda H, Hammerton, Matt, Jarvis, Rosalind, Brock, Susannah and Lorimer, Larissa (2020). Measuring the working experience of doctors in training. Future Healthcare Journal, 7 (3), e17-e22. doi: 10.7861/fhj.2020-0005
Walsh, Matthew C., Joyce, Sophie, Maloney, Tim and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2020). Exploring the protective factors of children and families identified at highest risk of adverse childhood experiences by a predictive risk model: an analysis of the growing up in New Zealand cohort. Children and Youth Services Review, 108, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104556
Willing, Esther, Paine, Sarah-Jane, Wyeth, Emma, Ao, Braden Te, Vaithianathan, Rhema and Reid, Papaarangi (2019). Indigenous voices on measuring and valuing health states. Alternative-An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 16 (1), 117718011988541-9. doi: 10.1177/1177180119885418
Walsh, Matthew C., Joyce, Sophie, Maloney, Tim and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2019). Adverse childhood experiences and school readiness outcomes: results from the Growing Up in New Zealand study. New Zealand Medical Journal, 132 (1493), 15-24.
Rouland, Benedicte, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Wilson, Denise and Putnam-Hornstein, Emily (2019). Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Prevalence of Maltreatment: Evidence From a New Zealand Birth Cohort. American Journal of Public Health, 109 (9), 1255-1257. doi: 10.2105/ajph.2019.305163
Cheng, Terence C., Li, Jing and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2019). Monthly spending dynamics of the elderly following a health shock: evidence from Singapore. Health Economics, 28 (1), 23-43. doi: 10.1002/hec.3824
Reid, Papaarangi, Paine, Sarah-Jane, Te Ao, Braden, Willing, Esther, Wyeth, Emma and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2018). Estimating the economic costs of ethnic health inequities: protocol for a prevalence-based cost-of-illness study in New Zealand (2003-2014). BMJ Open, 8 (6), e020763. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020763
Rouland, Benedicte and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2018). Cumulative prevalence of maltreatment among New Zealand children, 1998-2015. American Journal of Public Health, 108 (4), 511-513. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304258
Vaithianathan, Rhema, Rouland, Benedicte and Putnam-Hornstein, Emily (2018). Injury and mortality among children identified as at high risk of maltreatment. Pediatrics, 141 (2), e20172882. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-2882
Cuccaro-Alamin, Stephanie, Foust, Regan, Vaithianathan, Rhema and Putnam-Hornstein, Emily (2017). Risk assessment and decision making in child protective services: predictive risk modeling in context. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 291-298. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.06.027
Maloney, Tim, Jiang, Nan, Putnam-Hornstein, Emily, Dalton, Erin and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2017). Black-white differences in child maltreatment reports and foster care placements: a statistical decomposition Using Linked Administrative Data. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 21 (3), 414-420. doi: 10.1007/s10995-016-2242-3
Ryan, Matthew and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2015). The regulation of direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals in a managed care setting. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 17 (6), 986-1021. doi: 10.1111/jpet.12129
Linthicum, Mark T., Snider, Julia Thornton, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Wu, Yanyu, LaVallee, Chris, Lakdawalla, Darius N., Benner, Jennifer E. and Philipson, Tomas J. (2015). Economic burden of disease-associated malnutrition in China. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 27 (4), 407-417. doi: 10.1177/1010539514552702
Dare, Tim, Vaithianathan, Rhema and De Haan, Irene (2014). Addressing child maltreatment in New Zealand: is poverty reduction enough?. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46 (9), 989-994. doi: 10.1080/00131857.2014.938450
Lewis, Geraint, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Wright, Lorraine, Brice, Mary R., Lovell, Paul, Rankin, Seth and Bardsley, Martin (2013). Integrating care for high-risk patients in England using the virtual ward model: lessons in the process of care integration from three case sites. International Journal of Integrated Care, 13 (5). doi: 10.5334/ijic.1150
Vaithianathan, Rhema, Maloney, Tim, Putnam-Hornstein, Emily and Jiang, Nan (2013). Children in the public benefit system at risk of maltreatment identification via predictive modeling. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 45 (3), 354-359. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.022
Lewis, Geraint, Kirkham, Heather, Duncan, Ian and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2013). How health systems could avert 'Triple Fail' events that are harmful, are costly, and result in poor patient satisfaction. Health Affairs, 32 (4), 669-676. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1350
Lewis, Geraint, Wright, Lorraine and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2012). Multidisciplinary case management for patients at high risk of hospitalization: comparison of virtual ward models in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. Population Health Management, 15 (5), 315-321. doi: 10.1089/pop.2011.0086
Mills, Clair, Reid, Papaarangi and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2012). The cost of child health inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand: a preliminary scoping study. BMC Public Health, 12 (1) 384. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-384
Gilbert, Alexandra, Hockey, Peter, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Curzen, Nick and Lees, Peter (2012). Perceptions of junior doctors in the NHS about their training: results of a regional questionnaire. BMJ Quality and Safety, 21 (3), 234-238. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2011-000611
Gorgens, Tue, Meng, Xin and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2012). Stunting and selection effects of famine: a case study of the Great Chinese Famine. Journal of Development Economics, 97 (1), 99-111. doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2010.12.005
Vaithianathan, Rhema, Hockey, Peter, Lewis, Geraint and Lees, Peter (2011). Recruit with caution, manage with care. British Journal of Health Care Management, 17 (12), 579-583. doi: 10.12968/bjhc.2011.17.12.579
Ryan, Matthew and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2011). Verifiability and neologism-proofness in a Sender-Receiver game. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 79 (3), 256-262. doi: 10.1016/j.jebo.2011.01.033
Lewis, Geraint H., Vaithianathan, Rhema, Hockey, Peter M., Hirst, Guy and Bagian, James P. (2011). Counterheroism, common knowledge, and ergonomics: concepts from aviation that could improve patient safety. Milbank Quarterly, 89 (1), 4-38. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0009.2011.00623.x
Panattoni, Laura E., Vaithianathan, Rhema, Ashton, Toni and Lewis, Geraint H. (2011). Predictive risk modelling in health: options for New Zealand and Australia. Australian Health Review, 35 (1), 45-51. doi: 10.1071/AH09845
Rigotti, Luca, Ryan, Matthew and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2011). Optimism and firm formation. Economic Theory, 46 (1), 1-38. doi: 10.1007/s00199-009-0501-x
Vaithianathan, Rhema and Lewis, Geraint (2010). The NHS as an insurer. Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 15 (3), 171-173. doi: 10.1258/jhsrp.2009.009024
Chesnokova, Tatyana and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2010). The economics of female genital cutting. B E Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 10 (1)
Vaithianathan, Rhema (2009). An economic critique of urban motorways: The case of the Waterview Connection in Auckland. Road and Transport Research, 18 (3), 78-82.
Vaithianathan, Rhema, Hockey, Peter M., Moore, Thomas J. and Bates, David W. (2009). Iatrogenic effects of COX-2 inhibitors in the US population findings from the medical expenditure panel survey. Drug Safety, 32 (4), 335-343. doi: 10.2165/00002018-200932040-00007
Vaithianathan, Rhema and Lewis, Geraint (2008). Operational independence for the NHS. British Medical Journal, 337 (7666), a497-a497. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a497
Chesnokova, Tatyana and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2008). Lucky last? Intra-sibling allocation of child labor. BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 8 (1) doi: 10.2202/1935-1682.1908
Vaithianathan, Rhema (2006). Health insurance and imperfect competition in the health care market. Journal of Health Economics, 25 (6), 1193-1202. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2006.03.003
Vaithianathan, Rhema (2004). A critique of the private health insurance regulations. Australian Economic Review, 37 (3), 257-270. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8462.2004.00328.x
Ryan, Matthew J. and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2003). Medical insurance with rank-dependent utility. Economic Theory, 22 (3), 689-698. doi: 10.1007/s00199-002-0336-1
Vaithianathan, Rhema (2003). Supply-side cost sharing when patients and doctors collude. Journal of Health Economics, 22 (5), 763-780. doi: 10.1016/S0167-6296(03)00026-2
Ryan, Matthew Joseph and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2003). Adverse selection and insurance contracting: a rank-dependent utility analysis. Contributions to Theoretical Economics, 3 (1) 4. doi: 10.2202/1534-5971.1074
Vaithianathan, Rhema (2002). Will subsidising private health insurance help the public health system?. Economic Record, 78 (242), 277-283. doi: 10.1111/1475-4932.00057

Conference Paper

Brown, Anna, Chouldechova, Alexandra, Putnam-Hornstein, Emily, Tobin, Andrew and Vaithianathan, Rhema (2019). Toward algorithmic accountability in public services a qualitative study of affected community perspectives on algorithmic decision-making in child welfare services. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Glasgow, Scotland, 4-9 May 2019. New York, NY, United States: Association for Computing Machinery. doi: 10.1145/3290605.3300271

Working Paper

Vaithianathan, Rhema, Ryan, Matthew, Anchugina, Nina, Selvey, Linda, Dare, Tim and Brown, Anna (2020). Digital contact tracing for COVID-19: a primer for policymakers.

Research Reports

Vaithianathan, Rhema and Kithulgoda, Chamari I. (2020). Using predictive risk modeling to prioritize services for people experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County: Methodology update. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University of Technology, Centre for Social Data Analytics.
Vaithianathan, Rhema, Putnam-Hornstein, Emily and Benavides-Prado, Diana (2020). Implementing the Hello Baby Prevention Program in Allegheny County : Methodology Report. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University of Technology, Centre for Social Data Analytics.
Vaithianathan, Rhema and Kithulgoda, Chamari I. (2020). Using predictive risk modeling to prioritize services for people experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County: Methodology paper for the Allegheny Housing Assessment. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University of Technology, Centre for Social Data Analytics.
Kubler, Matthias, Tomaszewski, Wojtek, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Western, Mark, Thorpe, Karen and Johnstone, Melissa (2020). Learning through COVID-19: The prevalence and geographical distribution of children at risk of educational disadvantage: Pillar 1: Technical Supporting Report 6 of 7. Learning through COVID-19 Brisbane, Qld, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Xiang, Ning, Kubler, Matthias, Tomaszewski, Wojtek, Vaithianathan, Rhema, Western, Mark, Staton, Sally, Thorpe, Karen and Johnstone, Melissa (2020). Learning through COVID-19: Outcomes and risk factors for children at risk of educational disadvantage: Evidence from secondary data analysis: Pillar 1: Technical Supporting Report 7 of 7. Learning through COVID-19 St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.

Areas of research

Health and medicine
Machine learning and data mining
Society and government