Dr Ben Smith, Director
BSW(Hons) MPH PhD

Ben Smith is a health promotion researcher with experience in community needs assessment, population surveys, program evaluation and primary prevention intervention trials. He has an Honours degree in Social Work from the University of New South Wales, a Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Sydney and has completed a PhD at this same university. Ben has experience as both a quantitative and qualitative researcher, in working with a range of stakeholders in the evaluation of prevention programs and in the management of research studies. Over the last eight years he has undertaken research in areas that include physical activity promotion, older people's health, falls prevention, skin cancer prevention, child immunisation and youth drug and alcohol usage.

Ben's research interests include:

• Evidence based health promotion
• Mass media interventions
• Communication strategies and population level interventions to increase physical activity
• Measurement of physical activity and other behavioural risk factors
• Minimal interventions in health care settings
• Health promotion in developing countries
• Diabetes prevention
• Health promotion in health care settings
• Health promotion in developing countries

Teaching area:
Ben coordinates the International Health Promotion unit in the MIPH and the Quantitative Research and Evaluation unit in the MPH, and delivers lectures relating to health promotion in other courses offered in the School of Public Health. He has supervised a number of students undertaking postgraduate research projects as well as Visiting Fellows in health promotion from China, India and Indonesia.