Yeji Baek

Dr Yeji Baek

Research Fellow

Dr Yeji Baek examined the economic aspects of early childhood development interventions in low-and middle-income countries in her PhD project. Her research investigated interventions with equity considerations using various methods, including cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a trial and economic modelling.

After completing a bachelor degree in food and nutrition and master in public health, Dr Baek worked in the Korean government at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency as a researcher in nutrition epidemiology. Later, she joined UNICEF Nepal and worked on monitoring and evaluation of maternal and child health programmes and resource mobilization. Dr Baek commenced her PhD during the COVID-19 pandemic and relocated to Australia in 2022.

A component of Dr Baek’s research has been published in the Lancet Global Health. The paper demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of a parenting intervention in Vietnam. The parenting intervention reviewed was Learning Clubs, a program of facilitated, community-based groups to teach women and their partners, from pregnancy until the baby is one, about nutrition, sensitive caregiving, play, first aid, health, and avoiding family violence. The primary results from earlier this year showed the children had significantly better cognitive, language, and motor development at the age of two than those whose mothers had usual health care.

The G20 Initiative for Early Childhood Development recommends nations invest 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) into early childhood development. Dr Baek’s research found that Learning Clubs improved child cognitive development in Vietnam, but at just 0.5% of Vietnam’s GDP.

“I hope my research can contribute to understanding the economic value of investing in children and guide strategic budgeting to ensure that every child reaches their full potential,” says Dr Baek.

Dr Baek’s interest in global health was originally sparked while studying her favourite subjects at university: global health and public health nutrition. Her research interests include global health and nutrition, maternal and child health, early childhood development, health economics, and equity.

“I believe that health is a fundamental human right, yet not everyone, especially from disadvantaged groups, has the opportunity to achieve optimal health, which negatively impacts community and global development,” says Dr Baek.

“My interest is to contribute to promoting population health and equity.”

There has been progress with child survival globally, with reduced child mortality. However, many children still face inequality.

“Given global challenges such as climate change, disasters, conflicts, and ageing, I believe that protecting vulnerable groups and building resilience through multi-sectoral collaborations are critical,” says Dr Baek.

Dr Baek was inspired to join the Global and Women’s Health unit due to the team’s contribution to evidence generation and translation into practice to improve health and equity.

“I enjoy working with the team, and it is great to interact with colleagues researching diverse topics and methods through global collaboration to achieve the same goal: promoting health,” says Dr Baek.