Thao Thai

Dr. Thao Thai is a Research Fellow at the Monash University Health Economics Group (MUHEG) within the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to health and well-being through her specialized research in health economics and outcome measurement.

Dr. Thai's educational background includes:

• PhD in Health Economics from Monash University
• Master of Health Economics (Advanced) from the University of Queensland
• Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Dr. Thai's research spans three primary domains with significant implications for health policy. Her work in stated preference methods applies discrete choice experiments to understand healthcare decision-making. In outcome measurement, she conducts rigorous research on the psychometric performance of Health-related Quality of Life instruments. Her third focus area is Indigenous Youth Mental Health, where she specializes in outcome measurement in Indigenous settings and economic evaluations of mental healthcare services. These research streams demonstrate methodological sophistication while addressing critical public health challenges.

Her recent publications reveal a consistent pattern of applying health economics principles to diverse contexts including mental health interventions, transportation policy, and adolescent health behaviors. Dr. Thai frequently employs discrete choice experiments and economic evaluation frameworks to generate evidence for policy decisions, with particular emphasis on measurement validity and cultural appropriateness in diverse populations.

Dr. Thai holds leadership positions in the academic community as an Editorial Board member of The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research journal and convenor of the Australian Health Economics Society Health Preference Research Special Interest Group. She is also a member of the International Academy of Health Preference Research.

As a research supervisor, Dr. Thai is accepting PhD students with projects focused on 'Outcome measurements in Indigenous Mental Health.' Her current research portfolio includes three major projects:

• 'Psychometric Performance of the EQ-HWB in Individuals with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Background' (2024-2025)
• 'Testing a modified version of the EQ-HWB-S among the general public in Australia' (2024)
• 'Head-to-Head Comparison of the Psychometric Performance of the EQ-HWB-S, EQ-5D-5L, Re-QoL' (2024)

Dr. Thai leads collaborative research efforts within the Health Economics Group, working with multidisciplinary teams to advance methodology and application in health economics, particularly in culturally diverse contexts and mental health settings.