The Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford is now accepting applications for the Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellowship in Contemporary Asia, an opportunity made available to two junior scholars for research and writing on Asia.

Fellows conduct research on contemporary political, economic or social change in the Asia-Pacific region, and contribute to Shorenstein APARC’s publications, conferences and related activities. To read about this year’s fellows, please click here.

The fellowship is a 10-mo. appointment during the 2018-19 academic year, and carries a salary rate of $52,000 plus $2,000 for research expenses.

For further information and to apply, please click here. The application deadline is Dec. 20, 2017.

Rural areas of China have made remarkable progress in reducing adult mortality within the past 15 years yet broadened health insurance was not a casual factor in that decline, according to a new study by an international research team that includes Asia Health Policy Program Director Karen Eggleston.

The New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), a government-subsidized insurance program that began in 2002-03, expanded to cover all of rural China within a decade. Examining NCMS and cause-specific mortality data for a sample of 72 counties between 2004 and 2012, the researchers found that there were no significant effects of health insurance expansion on increased life expectancy.

The study, published in the September issue of Health Affairs, showed results consistent with previous studies that also did not find a correlation between insurance and survival, although much research confirms NCMS increased access to healthcare, including preventive services, and shielded families from high health expenditures.

Commenting on the study, Eggleston said population health policies remain central to China’s efforts to increase life expectancy and to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas.

Eggleston also noted that multiple factors beyond the availability of health care determine how long people live, and anticipates the research team will continue to explore the impacts of NCMS by extending the study to look at infants and youth.

Read the study (may require subscription) and view a related article on the Stanford Scope blog.

The Asia Health Policy Program, established in 2007, promotes a comparative understanding of health and health policy in the Asia-Pacific region through research and collaboration with regional scholars, a colloquium series on health and demographic change, and conferences and publications on comparative health policy topics. The program is committed to supporting young researchers through its Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellowship. Every year, the program director, Karen Eggleston, mentors recent doctoral graduates invited to come to Stanford to undertake original research on contemporary health policy of relevance to the Asia-Pacific region. The Program recently organized the Workshop of Young Leaders in Asia Health Policy in Beijing to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

Asia Health Policy Program alumni have been expanding around the globe. Young Kyung Do, from South Korea, was the first Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow in 2008-09. He earned his doctorate in health policy and management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is currently an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Seoul National University in South Korea. His research interests include aging and long-term care, the interplay of health, education and labor, health behavior, sleep and time use, risk literacy and risk communication, value of medical interventions, and quality assessment from the patient's perspective. Working papers: 

The Effect of Informal Caregiving on Labor Market Outcomes in South Korea

The Effect of Coresidence with an Adult Child on Depressive Symptoms among Older Widowed Women in South Korea: An Instrumental Variable Estimation

The Effect of Sleep Duration on Body Weight in Adolescents: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Brian K. Chen, from the United States, was the 2009-10 Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow. He earned his doctorate in business administration from the Haas Business School at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management at the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina in the United States.  He is also the associate director of Taiwan Doctoral Program housed in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management.  He has a unique combination of legal and economic expertise. He received a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1997. His research focuses on health policy, particularly with respect to health disparities, the burden of chronic illnesses and aging as well as the impact of incentives in health care organizations on provider and patient behavior.  Working papers: 

Strict Liability for Medical Injuries? The Impact of Increasing Malpractice Liability on Obstetrician Behavior: Evidence from Taiwan

Patient Copayments, Provider Incentives and Income Effects: Theory and Evidence from China’s Essential Medications List Policy

Qiulin Chen, from China, was the 2010-11 Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow. He earned his doctorate in economics from Peking University. He is currently an associate professor and director of the Social Security Research Division of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, and deputy director of the Research Center of Health Industry Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. His research interests are health economics and health policy, aging and social security, and public finance.

There were two Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellows from 2011until 2012. Ang Sun, from China, earned her doctorate in economics from Brown University in the United States. She is currently an associate professor at Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, China. Her research focuses on household and marriage, development, demography and health. The second fellow, Siyan Yi from Cambodia, was the first recipient of the Developing Asia Health Policy Fellowship for citizens of low-income countries in Asia. Dr. Yi earned his doctorate in international health sciences from the University of Tokyo. He is currently a director of KHANA Center for Population Health Research in Cambodia and adjunct associate professor at Center for Global Health Research of Touro University California in the United States. His research projects are in population health, including clinical epidemiology, social and behavioral determinants of health, health promotion, health system strengthening, and health policy in both developed and developing countries.

Marjorie Pajaron, from the Philippines, was the 2012-13 Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow. She earned her doctorate in economics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently an assistant professor at the School of Economics, University of the Philippines. Her research lies at the intersection of applied microeconomics and health policy, with a focus on gender, health, development and labor economics.  Working papers: 

Remittances, Informal Loans, and Assets as Risk-Coping Mechanisms: Evidence from Agricultural Households in Rural Philippines

The Roles of Gender and Education on the Intrahousehold Allocations of Remittances of Filipino Migrant Workers

Margaret Triyana, from Indonesia, was the 2013-14 Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow. She earned her doctorate in public policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. She is currently a visiting assistant professor at the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre dame, in the United States. Prior to joining the Asia Health Policy Program, she was an Indonesia research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is particularly interested in how social policies affect health outcomes for the poor, early health investments, and health-seeking behavior in limited-resource settings.

Gendendarjaa Baigalimaa, from Mongolia, was the 2013-14 Visiting Scholar for Developing Asia Health Policy. A medical doctor by training, she studied cancer prevention and the impact of the National Cervical Cancer Program in Mongolia. Upon completion of her fellowship with the Asia Health Policy Program, she became a gynecological oncologist at Mungun Guur Hospital in Mongolia.

There were two Asia Health Policy postdoctoral fellows from 2014 until 2015. Pham Ngoc Minh, from Vietnam, who earned his doctorate in medical science from Kyushu University in Japan, is currently a visiting research fellow at Curtin University in Australia. His main research interests include the epidemiology and prevention of metabolic diseases, particularly diabetes, and depression in Asian adults. He also works on systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational and clinical studies to inform health policy. The second postdoctoral fellow was Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw, from Myanmar, who completed her doctorate in epidemiology from the Prince of Songkla University in Thailand. She is a research scientist at the Department of Medical Research in the Pyin Oo Lwin branch of the Ministry of Health and Sport in Myanmar. Currently, she is on leave to attend a master of public policy at Oxford University, in the United Kingdom.  Her current research work involves equitable allocation of healthcare resources, the current health system transformations, and the democratization process in Myanmar.

Darika Saingam, from Thailand, was the 2015-16 Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow. She earned her doctorate in epidemiology from the Prince of Songkla University in Thailand. Her research interests are public health, substance abuse and drug policy. She seeks to identify potentially effective policy directions suitable for Thailand. Before she joined the Asia Health Policy Program, she served as a researcher at Songkla University’s Epidemiology Unit. She has since continued her work on substance abuse research.

Kim Ngan Do, from Vietnam, was the 2016-17 Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow. She earned her doctorate in health policy and management from the College of Medicine at Seoul National University, South Korea. She has a strong interest in health system-related issues, especially health financing, human resources for health, and health care service delivery. She implemented comparative studies at the regional level and completed fieldwork in Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam.

Since its inception, the Asia Health Policy Program has supported numerous fellows to develop their expertise. They continue to pursue their academic and research interests, and have become experts in their fields. Alumni hold various academic, research and professional positions around the world, and are part of a vital community that promotes deeper understanding of comparative health policy through education, training and implementation of best healthcare practice.