Applied Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases in South Australia

Abstract

This thesis describes the projects and public health experiences that fulfil the core requirements of the Australian National University Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) - Australia's Field Epidemiology Training Program.

My MAE field placement was with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Epidemiology and Clinical Trials groups from February 2021 to February 2023. SAHMRI is an independent health and medical research institute working with South Australian hospitals and health services to deliver state-wide translational health research. In addition to my time at SAHMRI, I worked with a state local health network, the state public health laboratory and the SA Health Communicable Disease Control Branch, where I participated in various public health activities and experiences.

My major projects focused on four public health challenges and priorities in South Australia between 2021-2022. These projects were: a three-year retrospective study of New Delhi Metallo-B-Lactamase-producing Enterobacterales; an interrupted time series analysis of respiratory illness presentations to South Australian public hospital emergency departments, 2015-2021; an evaluation of the South Australian Staphylococcus Aureus Bloodstream Infection Surveillance System; and an investigation of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak at a restaurant in July 2021. Show more