Welcome Prof. Pranee Liamputtong, Top 0.35% of the World’s Most Cited Researchers in the Field of Public Health, to VinUniversity
We are honored to introduce Prof. Pranee Liamputtong, Professor of Behavioural Sciences, College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity, to our community of professors, lecturers and students. Prior to joining VinUni, Prof. Pranee was a Professor of Public Health at prestigious universities in Australia and Asia, including Western Sydney University (top 2% of global universities according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022) and La Trobe University in Australia. She is also a Visiting Professor at Kyoto University, Japan (ranked 33rd in the world), the University of Malaya, Malaysia (ranked 65th in the world according to QS Global World Rankings 2022), and Adjunct Professor at Mahidol University in Thailand (ranked 44th in QS Asian University Rankings).
Born into a marginalised Thai immigrant family, Prof. Pranee’s childhood was plagued by hunger and discrimination from neighbours. Despite her excellent academic records, she was labelled as “a bad girl” simply because of the marginalisation of her family. This propelled Prof. Pranee on her pursuit to improve the health and wellbeing of marginalised communities through her research. Author of more than 300 scientific articles on social health issues, particularly focusing on vulnerable communities such as women, children, immigrants, refugees, elderly, and transgender individuals, Prof. Pranee is among the Top 0.35% of the world’s most cited researchers in the field of Public Health and Top 0.25% in the field of Nursing, as recently published by PLOS Biology (USA) in 2020.
As a qualitative researcher, Prof. Pranee has written several books on employing this approach in public health research, which have been widely cited by the scientific community. Notable publications include “Quality Research Methods”, which has been cited by more than 5000 scientific publications, “Focus Group Methodology” (over 1600 citations), “Researching the vulnerable: A guide to sensitive research methods” (over 1500 citations), and “Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice” (over 500 citations). These textbooks are widely adopted in teaching and research all over the world.
Let’s get to know Prof. Pranee Liamputtong, Professor of Behavioural Sciences, VinUniversity College of Health Sciences. Prof. Pranee is among the Top 0.35% of the world’s most cited researchers in the field of Public Health and Top 0.25% in the field of Nursing, as recently published by PLOS Biology (USA) in 2020. Prior to joining VinUni, Prof. Pranee was a Professor in Public Health at prestigious universities in Australia and Asia, including Western Sydney University (top 2% of global universities according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022) and La Trobe University in Australia. She is also a Visiting Professor at Kyoto University, Japan (ranked 33rd in the world) and the University of Malaya, Malaysia (ranked 65th in the world according to QS Global World Rankings 2022), and Adjunct Professor at Mahidol University in Thailand (ranked 44th in QS Asian University Rankings).
❓ What brings you to VinUniversity, Professor?
I believe VinUni and the College of Health Sciences are research institutions driven by practical impact and contribution to the community. This will be the foundation for VinUni to create changes, not only in Vietnam’s medical sector, but also in the region’s and the world’s. I aspire to be able to work in such an institution and devote myself to the high-quality teaching and supervision of research students within the areas of healthcare services, health sciences, and research methodologies, which in turn, can lead to the improvement of healthcare services for the people of Vietnam.
❓ Can you tell us more about your subject,Behavioural Sciences, that you’ll be teaching at VinUniversity?
Broadly speaking, health behaviour is referred to as the actions (behaviours) of individuals, groups, and organisations, which can have direct or indirect causes and bring benefits or harm to the subject in question. Behavioural sciences is the study and analysis of these health behaviours in order to identify reasons for a community’s behaviours, thereby allowing us to come up with the most suitable medical treatment.
❓ What is the trend for Behavioural Sciences in Vietnam and the world in the future?
A good understanding of health behaviour can lead to better healthcare for people around the world and, certainly, in Vietnam. Health behaviour will tell us why some people do not want to be vaccinated to prevent diseases, such as getting COVID-19 vaccines. This will allow health care providers to understand the actions of people and use this knowledge to improve health care approaches and services. Health behaviour can also tell us why some nations actively promote the rollout of vaccines, but others do not. I believe this field is crucial for public health interventions and programs everywhere, including Vietnam, if we want to see people in the country live a healthy life.
❓ As one of the professors, which areas would you like to focus on at VinUni?
I would like to focus on research in the areas of sexual health and reproductive health of underserved groups in Vietnam, such as women, children, older people, and minority groups. I will focus on the social and cultural aspects of these health areas for better healthcare and access for all Vietnamese people. Additionally, I would like to explore the impact of the pandemic on the health and well-being of Vietnamese people. I think this will be an ongoing public health issue that we will face in the future. An understanding of this issue can help us to properly prepare for any future pandemic that may happen.
Read more about Prof. Pranee at https://vinuni.edu.vn/people/pranee-liamputtong-phd/
