Hannah Badland

My vision is to create a more inclusive society, where everyone, regardless of their circumstances, can flourish. To do this, I investigate how the built environment is connected to health, wellbeing, and inequities in both adults and children internationally, with an interest in in populations disadvantaged by the system and inadequate policies. My interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research program engages with end-users, typically policymakers and non-government organisations, to influence on-the-ground change. I am currently working on two major research themes. One is enhancing the social determinants of health for those with disability. The other focuses on reducing inequities in early childhood development.

Indicators developed through my research program are used to monitor existing policies, or in the absence of policies, my research informs the metrics that guide policy development. These indicators and research tools are used by policymakers and practitioners to shape thinking and guide priorities and investment through measuring and monitoring infrastructure delivery that support equitable health and wellbeing. This ensures that this work is adopted into international, national, and state policies and frameworks.

I earned my PhD in public health from Auckland University of Technology (NZ) in 2007 where I investigated associations between the built environment and travel behaviours in adults. Since then, I have been employed in research intensive positions internationally. My major achievements include working in the Research Alliance for Youth Disability and Mental Health and three NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence covering health, liveability and disability, and being an investigator in a 14-country, 17-city built environment and health study. I was the Inaugural Australian Health Promotion Association 'Thinker in Residence', a Salzburg Global Fellow, and recipient of numerous awards and prizes spanning research excellence, translation, and leadership. My papers are among the most cited in the field globally and are published in leading journals, such as The Lancet, American Journal of Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Perspectives. I have published over 170 research articles in leading interdisciplinary journals and received more than $23M in competitive research funding. I am an Associate Editor for Health & Place, a leading interdisciplinary journal. 

I am currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and the Director of the Social Equity Research Centre, RMIT University.