Background

Dr Cheng is a leader in migrant, refugee and asylum seeker health in Australia. He has an in-depth knowledge of refugee and asylum seeker health care issues and multi-sector stakeholder relationships. He is an accomplished program manager, researcher and clinician with advanced skills in population health needs assessment and planning, health service delivery, health sector integration, workforce education and training, community engagement, health promotion, stakeholder management, policy advocacy, research and evaluation. His work has resulted in improvements in the delivery of health care to refugees and asylum seekers across Australia.

Appointments

• 2018 Honorary Burnet Institute Fellow
• 2015-17 Public Health Registrar, Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute.
• 2012-15 Refugee Health Program Manager, South East Melbourne Medicare Local.
• 2009-11 Refugee Health Program Coordinator, Dandenong Casey General Practice Association.
• 2008-09 Refugee Health Program Coordinator, Dandenong District Division of General Practice.
• 2013-15 Adjunct Research Fellow, Southern Academic Primary Care Research Unit - Monash University, South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local, Monash Health.
• 2009-13 Research Fellow, Southern Academic Primary Care Research Unit - Monash University, South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local, South Eastern Health Providers Association, Monash Health.
• 2009 Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Fellow, Monash University, Foundation House, Department of Health and Ageing.
• 2008-12 Sessional Lecturer, Public Health in Complex Disaster Settings (Refugee Health), Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University.
• 2009-11 Lecturer, General Practice, Department of General Practice, Monash University.
• 2004-15 General Practitioner, Hill Medical Services, Noble Park; Langton Medical Centre, Dandenong; CDM St Damian Medical Clinic, Dandenong; Dandenong Hospital Refugee Health Service, Southern Health; Dandenong Asylum Seekers GP Clinic.
• 2001-04 General Practice Registrar, Station Street Clinic, Pakenham; Parkridge Medical Centre, Rowville; Princess Medical Centre, Balga, WA.
• 2000-01 Hospital Medical Officer, Royal Perth Hospital, Swan District Hospital, Charles Gairdner Hospital & Joondulup Health Campus, WA.
• 1999 Hospital Intern, Royal Darwin Hospital, NT.

Positions

• Refugee Health Network of Australia, Executive Committee, 2009-15.
• Victorian Refugee Health Network, Advisory Group, 2009-15.
• Refugee Health Research Consortium, 2009-15.

Qualifications

• 2008: MPH (International Health), Monash University, Australia
• 2004: FRACGP, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australia
• 1998: MBBS, University of Melbourne, Australia

Awards

• 2014: Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Awards, Improving Mental Wellbeing, Highly Commended
• 2014: Victorian Minister for Health, Volunteer Awards, Outstanding Team Achievement
• 2011: HESTA National Primary Health Care Awards, Individual Distinction Finalist
• 2009: Victorian Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Conference, Best presentation (equal)
• 2007: Monash University and Burnet Institute, Edelmira Peregrino Go Award, International Public Health Student of the Year (equal)
• 2005: Victorian Consortium for Public Health and Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Prize in Social and Cultural Perspectives in Public Health

Projects (2)

Current (1)

• ACCESS: STI and BBV surveillance system
  ACCESS is a surveillance system that collates important information on a range of STIs and BBVs.

Past (1)

• Communicable disease screening and prevalence among migrants
  A study to improve communicable disease health outcomes among migrants entering Australia.

Publications (14)

2019 (2)

• The OPTIMISE project: protocol for a mixed methods, pragmatic, quasi-experimental trial to improve primary care delivery to refugees in Australia.
  Grant Russell, Nilakshi Gunatillaka, Virginia Lewis, I-Hao Cheng, Joanne Enticott, Geraldine Marsh, Shiva Vasi, Jenny Advocat, Hyun Song, Shoko Saito, Sue Casey, Mitchell Smith, Mark Harris
  BMC Health Serv Res. 2019 Jun; 19(1):396
• The Asylum Seeker Integrated Healthcare Pathway: a collaborative approach to improving access to primary health care in South Eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  I-Hao Cheng, Jacquie McBride, Miriam Decker, Therese Watson, Hannah Jakubenko, Alana Russo
  Aust J Prim Health. 2019 Mar; 25(1):6-12

2017 (3)

• Acceptability of general practice services for Afghan refugees in south-eastern Melbourne.
  Prashanti Manchikanti, I-Hao Cheng, Jenny Advocat, Grant Russell
  Aust J Prim Health. 2017 Apr; 23(1):87-91
• A systematic review of studies with a representative sample of refugees and asylum seekers living in the community for participation in mental health research.
  Joanne C Enticott, Frances Shawyer, Shiva Vasi, Kimberly Buck, I-Hao Cheng, Grant Russell, Ritsuko Kakuma, Harry Minas, Graham Meadows
  BMC Med Res Methodol. 2017 Mar; 17(1):37
• The mental health status of refugees and asylum seekers attending a refugee health clinic including comparisons with a matched sample of Australian-born residents.
  Frances Shawyer, Joanne C Enticott, Andrew A Block, I-Hao Cheng, Graham N Meadows
  BMC Psychiatry. 2017 Feb; 17(1):76

2015 (4)

• Rites of passage: improving refugee access to general practice services.
  Cheng, I-H. Vasi, S. Wahidi, S. Russell, G
  Aust Fam Phys. 2015 Jul; 44(7):503-507
• Maternal health and pregnancy outcomes comparing migrant women born in humanitarian and nonhumanitarian source countries: a retrospective, observational study.
  Melanie E Gibson-Helm, Helena J Teede, I-Hao Cheng, Andrew A Block, Michelle Knight, Christine E East, Euan M Wallace, Jacqueline A Boyle
  Birth. 2015 Jun; 42(2):116-124
• Maternal health and pregnancy outcomes among women of refugee background from Asian countries.
  Melanie Gibson-Helm, Jacqueline Boyle, I-Hao Cheng, Christine East, Michelle Knight, Helena Teede
  Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2015 May; 129(2):146-151
• Refugee experiences of general practice in countries of resettlement: a literature review.
  Cheng I-H, Drillich A, Schattner P
  Br J Gen Pract. 2015 Mar; 65(632):e171-e176

2014 (3)

• A cross-sectional survey of the mental health needs of refugees and asylum seekers attending a refugee health clinic: a study protocol for using research to inform local service delivery.
  Frances Shawyer, Joanne C Enticott, Anne R Doherty, Andrew A Block, I-Hao Cheng, Sayed Wahidi, Graham N Meadows
  BMC Psychiatry. 2014 Dec; 14:356
• Importance of community engagement in primary health care: the case of Afghan refugees.
  I-Hao Cheng, Sayed Wahidi, Shiva Vasi, Sophia Samuel
  Aust J Prim Health. 2014 Aug; Epub ahead of print
• Emergency department mental health presentations by people born in refugee source countries: an epidemiological logistic regression study in a Medicare Local region in Australia.
  Joanne C Enticott, I-Hao Cheng, Grant Russell, Josef Szwarc, George Braitberg, Anne Peek, Graham Meadows
  Aust J Prim Health. 2014 Jun

2013 (1)

• A narrative synthesis of the impact of primary health care delivery models for refugees in resettlement countries on access, quality and coordination.
  Chandni Joshi, Grant Russell, I-Hao Cheng, Margaret Kay, Kevin Pottie, Margaret Alston, Mitchell Smith, Bibiana Chan, Shiva Vasi, Winston Lo, Sayed Shukrullah Wahidi, Mark F Harris
  Int J Equity Health. 2013 Nov; 12:88

2012 (1)

• The NSW Refugee Health Service - improving refugee access to primary care.
  Diana Milosevic, I-Hao Cheng, Mitchell M Smith
  Aust Fam Physician. 2012 Mar; 41(3):147-149

News Articles (1)

2017 (1)

• U=U addressing HIV stigma