
Overview
Background
Professor Stephen Birch commenced in 2018 as Director and Taylor Family Chair of UQ’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health.
He is also a senior scientist at the WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning at Dalhousie University, Canada, and also holds visiting professorial appointments at the University of Manchester, UK (since 2006) and the University of Technology, Sydney (since 2003).
Professor Birch is a pioneer in the field of health economics. He has developed and applied new methods for the economic evaluation of health care systems, with particular emphasis on equity in health care resource allocation, and needs-based approaches to health care funding and health workforce planning.
Prior to joining UQ, Professor Birch was a professor of health economics at McMaster University, Canada, for almost three decades. He has also worked at the Medical Care Research Unit, Sheffield University, UK and at the Centre for Health Economics, York University, UK. He has held honorary appointments at dental schools in Toronto and Malmo (Sweden) and the School of Public Health at Cape Town (South Africa).
Professor Birch holds a Doctor of Philosophy in economics from York University (UK), a Master of Science in fiscal studies from Bath University (UK), and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Sheffield University.
During his career, Professor Birch has been a consultant with WHO and the World Bank, as well as serving on many national and provincial health department expert panels and advisory councils for health workforce planning in Canada and the UK. From 2015 to 2017, he served on the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences expert panel on improving access to oral health care for vulnerable people living in Canada.
Professor Birch has published more than 250 research papers with particular interests in health service and health workforce planning, access to care in underserved populations and needs-based allocation of resources and provider remuneration.
From 1997-2012, he served as Senior Editor for the leading academic journal, Social Science & Medicine. He currently serves on the editorial advisory boards of Social Science & Medicine & Health and Social Care in the Community.
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Stephen Birch is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of York
Works
Search Professor Stephen Birch’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Other Outputs
Change in dental visits among eligible children under the impact of the child dental benefits schedule in Australia
Nguyen, Lan, Connelly, Luke B., Birch, Stephen and Nguyen, Ha Trong (2025). Change in dental visits among eligible children under the impact of the child dental benefits schedule in Australia. LCC Working Paper Series. 2025-06. Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Australia. doi: 10.14264/9bb2f5e
2024
Journal Article
How effective and cost‐effective is water fluoridation for adults and adolescents? The LOTUS 10‐year retrospective cohort study
Moore, Deborah, Nyakutsikwa, Blessing, Allen, Thomas, Lam, Emily, Birch, Stephen, Tickle, Martin, Pretty, Iain A. and Walsh, Tanya (2024). How effective and cost‐effective is water fluoridation for adults and adolescents? The LOTUS 10‐year retrospective cohort study. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 52 (4), 413-423. doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12930
2024
Journal Article
Effect of fluoridated water on invasive NHS dental treatments for adults: the LOTUS retrospective cohort study and economic evaluation
Moore, Deborah, Nyakutsikwa, Blessing, Allen, Thomas, Lam, Emily, Birch, Stephen, Tickle, Martin, Pretty, Iain A. and Walsh, Tanya (2024). Effect of fluoridated water on invasive NHS dental treatments for adults: the LOTUS retrospective cohort study and economic evaluation. Public Health Research, 12 (5), 1-147. doi: 10.3310/rfqa3841
2024
Journal Article
Brief parenting intervention (Triple P) for families of children with eczema: a randomized controlled trial
Mitchell, Amy E., Morawska, Alina, Casey, Emily, Forbes, Elana, Filus, Ania, Fraser, Jennifer, Rowell, David, Johnston, Aimee and Birch, Stephen (2024). Brief parenting intervention (Triple P) for families of children with eczema: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 49 (6), 429-441. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsae023
2024
Journal Article
Modelling a consultant workforce for the United Kingdom: needs-based planning for dental public health
Gallagher, Jennifer E., Donaldson, Michael, Karki, Anup, Keat, Ross, Yeung, C. Albert, Roberts, William, Birch, Stephen, Listl, Stefan and Witton, Robert (2024). Modelling a consultant workforce for the United Kingdom: needs-based planning for dental public health. Community Dental Health, 40 (4), 233-241. doi: 10.1922/CDH_00045Gallagher09
2023
Journal Article
Patients’ and care professionals’ evaluation of the effect of a hospital group on integrated care in Chinese urban health systems: a propensity score matching and difference-in-differences regression approach
Wang, Xin, Zheng, Caiyun, Wang, Yao, Birch, Stephen, Huang, Yixiang and Valentijn, Pim (2023). Patients’ and care professionals’ evaluation of the effect of a hospital group on integrated care in Chinese urban health systems: a propensity score matching and difference-in-differences regression approach. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 12 (1) 7897, 1-9. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.2023.7897
2023
Journal Article
Planning the future of oral health care workforce: moving beyond demographic change
Birch, Stephen and Nguyen, Lan (2023). Planning the future of oral health care workforce: moving beyond demographic change. Community Dental Health, 41 (1), 49-53. doi: 10.1922/CDH_00145Birch05
2023
Journal Article
The consideration of clinicians' time needed to treat by guideline developers is not a solution to the scarcity of healthcare resources problem
Gafni, Amiram, Mercuri, Mathew and Birch, Stephen (2023). The consideration of clinicians' time needed to treat by guideline developers is not a solution to the scarcity of healthcare resources problem. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 29 (8), 1240-1242. doi: 10.1111/jep.13901
2023
Journal Article
From population numbers to population needs: Incorporating epidemiological change into health service planning in Australia
Lenzen, Sabrina and Birch, Stephen (2023). From population numbers to population needs: Incorporating epidemiological change into health service planning in Australia. Social Science and Medicine, 328 115972, 1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115972
2023
Journal Article
General population preferences for cancer care in health systems of China: a discrete choice experiment
Zhang, Nan, Chang, Xuan, Liu, Ruyue, Zheng, Caiyun, Wang, Xin and Birch, Stephen (2023). General population preferences for cancer care in health systems of China: a discrete choice experiment. Cancer Medicine, 12 (6), 7485-7497. doi: 10.1002/cam4.5473
2023
Journal Article
Yarning about pain: Evaluating communication training for health professionals at persistent pain services in Queensland, Australia
Bernardes, Christina M, Ekberg, Stuart, Birch, Stephen, Claus, Andrew, Bryant, Matthew, Meuter, Renata, Isua, Jermaine, Gray, Paul, Kluver, Joseph P, Malacova, Eva, Jones, Corey, Houkamau, Kushla, Taylor, Marayah, Lin, Ivan and Pratt, Gregory (2023). Yarning about pain: Evaluating communication training for health professionals at persistent pain services in Queensland, Australia. British Journal of Pain, 17 (3), 306-319. doi: 10.1177/20494637221149831
2022
Journal Article
Communication and access to healthcare: Experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people managing pain in Queensland, Australia
Bernardes, Christina Maresch, Houkamau, Kushla, Lin, Ivan, Taylor, Marayah, Birch, Stephen, Claus, Andrew, Bryant, Matthew, Meuter, Renata, Isua, Jermaine, Gray, Paul, Kluver, Joseph P, Jones, Corey, Ekberg, Stuart and Pratt, Gregory (2022). Communication and access to healthcare: Experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people managing pain in Queensland, Australia. Frontiers in Pain Research, 3 1041968, 1-18. doi: 10.3389/fpain.2022.1041968
2022
Journal Article
Who are the 10%? Characteristics of the populations and communities receiving fluoridated water in England
Nyakutsikwa, Blessing, Allen, Thomas, Walsh, Tanya, Pretty, Iain, Birch, Stephen, Tickle, Martin and Moore, Deborah (2022). Who are the 10%? Characteristics of the populations and communities receiving fluoridated water in England. Community Dental Health, 39 (4), 247-253. doi: 10.1922/CDH_00092Nyakutsikwa07
2022
Journal Article
Relationships between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, burnout and job performance of healthcare professionals in a district-level health care system of Shenzhen, China
Wang, Xin, Li, Chaofan, Chen, Yuanqing, Zheng, Caiyun, Zhang, Fei, Huang, Yixiang and Birch, Stephen (2022). Relationships between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, burnout and job performance of healthcare professionals in a district-level health care system of Shenzhen, China. Frontiers in Psychology, 13 992258, 1-10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.992258
2022
Journal Article
Equity in maternal and child health care utilization in Guangdong province of China 2009–2019: A retrospective analysis
Wang, Xin, Zhu, Yingxian, Liu, Jia, Ma, Yuanzhu and Birch, Stephen (2022). Equity in maternal and child health care utilization in Guangdong province of China 2009–2019: A retrospective analysis. Frontiers in Public Health, 10 963344, 1-11. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.963344
2022
Journal Article
The effects of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax: moving beyond dental health outcomes and service utilisation
Sowa, P. Marcin and Birch, Stephen (2022). The effects of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax: moving beyond dental health outcomes and service utilisation. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 18 (2) PII S1744133122000147, 1-15. doi: 10.1017/s1744133122000147
2022
Journal Article
Disposable and reusable instruments in dental health practice: a comparison of cost factors in a public provider organization in Queensland, Australia
Sowa, P. Marcin, Fooken, Jonas, McGowan, Kelly and Birch, Stephen (2022). Disposable and reusable instruments in dental health practice: a comparison of cost factors in a public provider organization in Queensland, Australia. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 51 (5), 794-803. doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12764
2022
Other Outputs
Assessing the impact of clinical trials: a scoping literature review
Tuffaha, Haitham, Birch, Stephen and Oakley, Padraig (2022). Assessing the impact of clinical trials: a scoping literature review. Melbourne, VIC Australia: Australian Clinical Trials Alliance.
2022
Other Outputs
A pilot study to prospectively estimate the health and economic return on research investment
Tuffaha, Haitham and Birch, Stephen (2022). A pilot study to prospectively estimate the health and economic return on research investment. Melbourne, VIC Australia: Australian Clinical Trials Alliance.
2022
Journal Article
Clinician perspectives of communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders managing pain: needs and preferences
Bernardes, Christina M., Ekberg, Stuart, Birch, Stephen, Meuter, Renata F. I., Claus, Andrew, Bryant, Matthew, Isua, Jermaine, Gray, Paul, Kluver, Joseph P., Williamson, Daniel, Jones, Corey, Houkamau, Kushla, Taylor, Marayah, Malacova, Eva, Lin, Ivan and Pratt, Gregory (2022). Clinician perspectives of communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders managing pain: needs and preferences. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (3) 1572, 1-17. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031572
Supervision
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Stephen Birch is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the complex relationships between pre-existing conditions and cancer diagnosis in an ageing population
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Incorporating the Gains from Healthy Ageing in Health System Planning
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Connelly, Dr Bao Hoang Nguyen, Dr Sabrina Lenzen
-
Doctor Philosophy
Three Essays on the Economics of Child Health and Development
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Connelly
-
Doctor Philosophy
Three Essays on the Economics of Child Health and Development
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Connelly
-
Doctor Philosophy
Uncertainty, Learning and Growth Dynamics in Export Markets
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor KK Tang, Professor Luke Connelly
-
Doctor Philosophy
Developing a health workforce planning framework to better utilise the advanced practitioner role.
Associate Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investing in health as a pathway to improved economic performance
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonas Fooken, Professor Luke Connelly
-
Doctor Philosophy
Essays on the Economics of Mental Health
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor KK Tang, Professor Luke Connelly
Completed supervision
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Three Essays on the Economics of Child Health and Development
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Connelly
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Economics of Ageing, Health Outcomes and Workforce Planning
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Christiern Rose, Professor Brenda Gannon
Media
Enquiries
Contact Emeritus Professor Stephen Birch directly for media enquiries about:
- economic evaluation of health care systems
- equity in health care resource allocation
- health care funding
- health economics
- health workforce planning
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