John S. Humphreys, Professor of Rural Health Research, Monash University, Victoria, Australia. John’s research interests focus on rural communities, rural health workforce recruitment and retention, the provision of rural health services, and policies guiding the delivery of health care in rural Australia.
John Humphreys graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Diploma of Education, and was awarded a PhD from Monash University. Following a Post-Doctoral year at the Ohio State University, John has held academic positions at several Australian Universities. John has been the recipient of a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and the prestigious Louis Ariotti Biennial Award for innovation and excellence in rural and remote health research.
Based on extensive fieldwork across Australia, John pioneered research on the health status of rural Australians and health service provision in small rural and remote communities. His current research focuses on health workforce and health services issues to inform the development of sustainable models of service delivery in rural and remote areas of Australia, and rural population health studies designed to better understand the distribution and impact of priority health conditions in rural and remote parts of Australia and the specific effect of health service interventions on health outcomes.
In addition to his academic research, John has played a significant role with government programs in the field of rural health and health care. John was seconded by the Commonwealth Government to draft Australia s first National Rural Health Strategy. He later was commissioned to undertake several major reviews of rural health programs. In 1999 John was a facilitator and a member of the Implementation Committee for the Regional Australia Summit at Parliament House Canberra auspiced by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department of Transport and Regional Services. John has been a member of several Advisory Committees for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
John is married to Susan, and has two children, David and Kate. He owes an enormous debt of gratitude to his family. He may be contacted at john.humphreys@med.monash.edu.au.
Updated: January 2009
Health and Medical Geography 