Working groups
Elissa is a medical doctor with a Master of Public Health specialising in international health (Monash University). She has more than a decade's experience in global public health, with particular expertise in adolescent sexual and reproductive health research, policy, and programming in low- and middle-income countries.
Elissa has led and contributed to research examining adolescents' sexual and reproductive health needs in various settings, including China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. She has also conducted intervention studies and evaluations of programs aiming to improve adolescents' access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. Her recent work has focused on prevention of early and unintended pregnancy, menstrual hygiene management, understanding gender inequality and its impacts on adolescents, and strengthening adolescent-responsive health systems. She was a collaborator and co-author of the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing published in 2016, most notably contributing to the analysis of global burden of disease data to identify priority health needs of 10 to 24-year-olds globally. Elissa also provides technical support to adolescent and maternal and child health policy and development projects in Asia, the Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa.
Prior to joining Burnet in 2009, Elissa worked in sub-Saharan Africa as a clinician and health advisor, contributing to primary health care programs related to women's and children's health, HIV prevention and care, and sexual and reproductive health. In addition to work focused on adolescent health, Elissa also contributes to postgraduate teaching in women's and children's health, adolescent health, and primary health care. She was coordinator of the Centre for International Health's education and training program from 2013-2016.
Adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years account for 20% of the population of Pacific Island countries. Sexual activity is common during adolescence in this region. In Vanuatu, around 10% of young people have had sex by the age of 15, with the median age of sexual debut around 17 years.
Increasing adolescents’ access to sexual and reproductive health services in Vanuatu.This profile series presents information on the types of community-level health workers in the maternal, neonatal and reproductive health sector in ten different countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The profiles provide baseline information that can inform policy and program planning by donors, multilateral agencies, NGOs and international health practitioners. Ministry of health staff may also find the information from other countries useful in planning their own human resource initiatives.
Human resources for health in maternal, neonatal and reproductive health at community level: a profile of human resources for health in ten countries in the Asia and Pacific Regions.The Lancet
Elissa Kennedy
BMJ Global Health
Elissa Kennedy, Stephen Bell
Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health
Samuel McEwen, Vinay Menon, Miika Coppard, Elissa Kennedy, Peter Azzopardi, Vinay Menon, Miika Coppard, Samuel McEwen, Elissa Kennedy, Peter Azzopardi
This project provide formative research to support the delivery of life-skills education and hygiene improvements through monastic schools in Magway, Myanmar.
We aim to determine how malaria immunity impacts on the transmission of malaria and how immunity influences malaria control interventions.
Despite the incentives to invest in adolescent health, progress for the world’s adolescents has been slow.
We conducted a mobile phone-based health promotion with women who are sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya, to reduce unintended pregnancy.
We aim to improve understanding of the drivers and pathways to adolescent pregnancy in Southeast Asia.
The project works to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health in the Magwey Region, Myanmar.