Professor Sharon Friel
PhD, MSc
Professor of Health Equity, Director, Menzies Centre for Health Governance, School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet)
College of Asia & the Pacific
T:
0261251518
Areas of expertise
- Public Policy 160510
- Health Policy 160508
- Social Policy 160512
- Public Health And Health Services 1117
- Social Change 160805
- Ecological Impacts Of Climate Change 050101
- Public Nutrition Intervention 111104
Research interests
- Health governance and regulation
- Social determinants of health equity
- Political economy of health
- Global health
- Food systems
- Climate change
- Urbanisation
Biography
Sharon Friel is Professor of Health Equity and Director of the Menzies Centre for Health Governance at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), Australian National University. She was Director of RegNet from 2014-2019.
She was the Head of the Scientific Secretariat (University College London) of the World Health Organisation Commission on the Social Determinants of Health between 2005 and 2008. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia and co-Director of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in the Social Determinants of Health Equity. In 2014, her international peers voted her one of the world’s most influential female leaders in global health.
Her interests are in the political economy of health; governance, policy and regulatory processes related to the social determinants of health inequities, including trade and investment, food systems, urbanisation, climate change.Researcher's projects
I am chief investigator on several current major research collaborations in governance, public policy and the determinants of health inequities, including:
NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence Social Determinants of Health Equity (CRESDH). (2015-2019). CIs Baum F, Friel S, Kay A, McDermott D, Labonte R, Ziersch A, Strazdins L, Harris P, Mackean T, Newman L.
NHMRC Partnership Centre (June 2013-May 2018) CIs Andrew Wilson, Sally Redman, Alan Shiell, Adrian Bauman, Lyn Roberts, Sharon Friel, Billie Giles-Corti, Penny Hawe, Sandra Eades, Louise Baur, Shelley Bowen. Systems Approaches to the Prevention of Lifestyle Related Chronic Disease.
ARC Discovery (2013-2015). CIs Friel S, Bammer G, Kay A, Gleeson D, Thow AM, AIs Labonte R, Snowden W, Stuckler D. Trade policy: maximising benefits for nutrition, food security, human health, and the economy.
INFORMAS - the International Network on Food and Obesity/NCDs Research, Monitoring and Action Support (Trade and Investment module leader)
ARC Discovery grant (2013-2015). CIs Friel S, Pearson D, Lawrence M. Shrinking the food-print by creating consumer demand for sustainable and healthy eating.
ARC Linkage grant. CIs Lawrence M, Ryan C, Friel S, Moodie M. Modelling policy interventions to protect Australia’s food security in the face of environmental sustainability challenges.
World Bank, South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI), September 2013-October 2015. Co-Principal Investigators Dr Kremlin Wickramasinghe (University of Oxford, UK), Professor Sharon Friel (Australian National University).
Available student projects
2015: PhD scholarship associated with the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in the Social Determinants of Health
Publications
- Barten F, Akerman M, Becker D, Friel S, Hancock T, Mwatsama M, Rice M, Sheuya S, Stern R (2011). Rights, knowledge and governance for improved health equity in urban settings. Journal of Urban Health doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9608-z
- Edwards F, Dixon J, Friel S, Hall G, Wilson R, Hannigan I, Lockie S, Larsen K, Lawrence M, Hattersley L (2011). Climate change adaptation at the intersection of food and health. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health 23(2 Suppl):91S-104.
- Friel S, Akerman M, Hancock T, Kumaresan J, Marmot M, Melin T, Vlahov D and GRNUHE members (2011). Addressing the social and environmental determinants of urban health equity: evidence for action and a research agenda. Journal of Urban Health doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9606-1
- Friel S, Hancock T, Kjellstrom T, McGranahan G, Monge P, Roy J (2011). Urban health inequities and the added pressure of climate change: an action-oriented research agenda. Journal of Urban Health doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9607-0
- Friel S, TL Chiang, Y Cho, Y Guo, H Hashimoto, S Jayasinghe, B Loring, D Matheson, HT Nguyen, M Rao (2011). Freedom to lead a life we have reason to value? A spotlight on health inequity in the Asia Pacific region. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 23(2) 246â??263
- Friel S, Vlahov D and Buckley R (2011). No data, no problem, no action: Addressing urban health inequity in the 21st century. Journal of Urban Health doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9616-z
- Salgado de Snyder N, Friel S, Fotso JC, Khadr Z, Meresman S, Monge P, Patil-Deshmukh A (2011) Social conditions and urban health inequities: Realities, challenges and opportunities to transform the urban landscape through research and action. Journal of Urban Health doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9609-y
- Smit W, Hancock T, Kumaresen J, Santos-Burgoa C, Sánchez-Kobashi Meneses R and Friel S (2011). Towards a research and action agenda on urban planning/ design and health equity in cities in low and middle-income countries. Journal of Urban Health doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9605-2
- Strazdins L, Friel S, McMichael AJ, Woldenberg Butler S, Hanna E (2011). Climate change and childrenâ??s health: Likely futures, new inequities? Int J Pub Health. 2(4): 493-500.
- Tapsell LC, Probst Y, Lawrence M, Friel S, Flood V, McMahon A, Butler R (2011). Food and Nutrition Security in the Australia- New Zealand Region: Impact of Climate Change World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics, 102: 192â??200.
- Vlahov D, Agarwal S, Buckley RM, Teixeira Caiaffa W, Corvalan CF, Ezeh A, Finkelstein R, Friel S, Harpham T, Hossain M, de Faria Leao B, Mboup G, Montgomery MR, Netherland JC, Ompad DC, Prasad A, Quinn AT, Rothman A, Satterthwaite DE, Stansfield S, and Watson VJ (2011). Roundtable on Urban Living Environment Research (RULER) Journal of Urban Health doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9613-2
- Friel S, Dangour AD, Garnett T, Lock K, Butler A, Butler CB, Chalabi Z, Roberts I, Waage J, Haines A and McMichael AJ (2009). Impact on Public Health of Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Food and Agriculture. The Lancet 374: 2016-25.
- Friel S (2008). All embracing action. Public Service Review: Health, 17: 9.
- Lobstein T, Friel S, Dowler E (2008). Food, fuel and NCDs. The Lancet, 372:9639, 628.
- McMichael AJ, Friel S, Corvolan C, Nyong T (2008). Global environmental change and human health: Implications for health inequalities, social policy and the health professions. British Medical Journal, 336: 191-194.
- Fitzsimon N, Shiely F, Corradino D, Friel S, Kelleher CC (2007). Predictors of self-reported poor mental health at area level in Ireland: a multilevel analysis of deprivation and social capital indicators. Irish Medical Journal, 100(8): 49-52.
- Friel S (2007). Unhealthy systems, unhealthy weight. In Ecology and Health: People and Places in a Changing World. (Ed. P.Horwitz).Melbourne, Australia.
- Friel S, Bell R, Houweling A and Taylor S (2007). A social determinants approach to health equity. Global Forum Update on Research for Health, 4: 50-54.
- Hannon F, Friel S, Kelleher CC (2007). The relative influence of socio-demographic, lifestyle, environmental factors and co-morbidity on self rated health of the Irish prisoner population. Irish Medical Journal, 100(8): 59-61.
- Molcho M, Nic Gabhainn S, Friel S, Kelleher CC (2007). Food poverty and health among schoolchildren: Findings from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (HBSC). Public Health Nutrition, 10(4), 364-370.
- Sleigh et al (2007). Cohort Profile: The Thai Cohort of 87,134 Open University students. International Journal of Epidemiology, 37(2): 266-272.
- Friel S, Newell J, Kelleher CC (2005). Who eats four or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day? Classification tree analysis of data from the 1998 Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition in the Republic of Ireland. Public Health Nutrition, 8(2): 159-169.
- Friel S, Conlon C (2004). What is the extent of food poverty in Ireland? European Journal of Public Health 13(4), 133-134.
- Friel S, McMichael AJ, Kelljstrom T, Prapamontol T (2004). The housing and health transition in Thailand. Reviews on Environmental Health, 19(3-4): 311-328.
- Shiely F, McAvoy H, Kelleher CC, Murrin C, Friel S (2004). Older People â?? Young At Heart. Irish Journal of Medical Science 173(2), 30-34.
- Friel S, Kelleher CC, Nolan G, Harrington J (2003). Social Diversity of Irish Adults Nutritional Intake. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 57(7): 865-875.
- Kelleher CC, Friel S, NicGabhainn S, Tay J (2003). Socio-Demographic predictors of self rated health in the Republic of Ireland: Findings from the National Survey on Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition, SLAN. Social Science & Medicine, 57(3): 477-486.
- Trichopoulou A, Naska A, Antoniou A, Friel S, Trygg K, Turrini A (2003). Vegetable and Fruit: The Evidence in their favour and the Public Health Perspective. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, 73(2): 63-69.
- Trichopoulou A, Naska A, Remaut AM, Turrini A, Trygg K, Vaz de Almeida M, Friel S, Nelson M (2003). European food availability databank based on household budget surveys: The Data Food Networking initiative. European Journal of Public Health, 13(3S), 24-28.
- Friel S, Hope A, Kelleher CC, Comer S, Sadlier D (2002). Impact evaluation of an oral health campaign amongst primary school children in Ireland. Health Promotion International, 17(2): 119-126
- Kelleher CC, Friel S, Nolan G, Forbes B (2002). Effect of social variation on the Irish diet. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 61(4), 527-536.
- Kelleher CC, Harrington J, Friel S (2002). Measures of self reported morbidity according to age, gender and general medical services eligibility in the National Survey of Lifestyles, Attitudes and Nutrition. Irish Journal of Medical Science 171(3): 134-138.
- Kelleher CC, Timoney A, Friel S, McKeown D (2002). Indicators of deprivation, voting patterns and health status at area level in the Republic of Ireland. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56: 36-44.
- Mooney M, Hannon F, Friel S, Barry M, Kelleher CC (2002). Perceived quality of life and mental health status of Irish female prisoners. Irish Medical Journal, 95(8):, 241-243.
- NicGabhainn S, Nolan G, Kelleher CC, Friel S (2002). Dieting patterns and related lifestyles of school aged children in the Republic of Ireland. Public Health Nutrition, 5(3): 457-463.
- Benach J, Muntaner C, Chung H, Solar O, Santana V, Chatterjee M, Friel S, Houweling T, Marmot M (2010). The importance of government policies in reducing employment related health inequalities. British Medical Journal, 340,c2154
- Friel S, Bell R, Houweling AJ, Marmot M (2009). Calling all Don Quixotes and Sancho Panzas: achieving the dream of global health equity through practical action on the social determinants of health. Global Health Promotion, 16(Supp1): 7â??11.
- Priest N, Waters E, Valentine N, Armstrong R, Friel S, Prasad A, Solar O (2009). Engaging policy makers in action on socially determined health inequities â?? developing evidence based cameos. Evidence and Policy, 5(1): 55-72.
- Costello A, Abbas M, Allen A, et al (2009). Managing the health effects of climate change. UCL Institute for Global Health and Lancet Commission. The Lancet, 373: 1693â??733.
- Friel S, Chopra M, Satcher D (2007). Unequal weight: equitable policy responses to the global obesity epidemic. British Medical Journal, 335: 1241-1243.
