Summary
Elizabeth Kath is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at RMIT University. Her academic work has been interdisciplinary, spanning the fields of political science, public health and development. This includes a major study of the social and political dimensions of Cuba's public health system, specifically its Maternal-Infant Health Program, for which she spent nine months conducting field research in Havana. The findings of this research on Cuba were published as a book - Social Relations and the Cuban Health Miracle - in 2010.
Her work has also been published in numerous academic journals, presented at international conferences and has won several awards. She co-authored the health components of the Global Cities Institute's ‘Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Development' project, which identifies alternative, community-engaged pathways to development in Papua New Guinea and formed part of a major report and a book. She is an Honorary Research Fellow with the UN Global Compact Cities Programme, for which is particularly interested on the programme’s engagement in Latin America and has been involved with its social inclusion project in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Her current research interests include social inclusion and reconciliaton, Latin American and Caribbean society, politics and culture (esp. Cuba and Brazil), and public heath (esp. maternal-infant health). Most recently, she is embarking on a research project that considers the concepts of social inclusion and reconciliation in relation to health service delivery in disadvantaged communities. She is a co-director of and has played a key role in establishing 'Global Reconciliation' - an organization with partners from over 35 countries, which seeks to promote human security through community engagement and local-global collaboration.
Experience
- Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow, RMIT University 2011 – present
- Research Fellow, RMIT University 2008 – 2011
Education
- School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland, PhD/Political Science, 2008
Publications
- Reconciliation and the Technics of Healing, Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 2011
- Revolutionary Health: Social Capital, State Capacity and the Cuban Health Paradox, Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies 2011
- Social Relations and the Cuban Health Miracle, Transaction 2010
- Life Underground in Cuba: The Second Economy and the Health Sector, Cuban Affairs 2009
- Inter-sectoral Cooperation, Political Will and Health Outcomes: A Study of Cuba’s Maternal-Infant..., Policy & Politics 2007
- Father Knows Best? Cuba’s Proactive Approach to Healthcare Delivers Results but Paternalism Brings S, Cuba in Transition 2006
Research Areas
- Political Science (1606)
- Social And Cultural Anthropology (160104)
- Globalisation And Culture (200206)
- Political Theory And Political Philosophy (160609)
- Public Health And Health Services Not Elsewhere Classified (111799)
Honours
RMIT Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellowship (2011)
Jorge Perez-Lopez Graduate Student Award (1st Prize) ASCE, Miami (2006)
Australian Federation of University Women ‘2006 Daphne Elliott Bursary’
Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship (2003)
Available for
- Multidisciplinary Research Collaboration
- Contract Research
- Speaking Engagements
- Expertise Requests
- Talking With Students
- Consulting Offers
- Career Opportunities
- Media Interviews