Kalinda Griffiths
Scientia Lecturer
Centre Big Data Research in Health, UNSW |
Kalinda is a Yawuru woman of Broome, born and living in Darwin, Australia. She is an early career Scientia Lecturer at the Centre for Big Data Research in Health at UNSW. Kalinda is an epidemiologist who has worked in the research sector for over 20 years. Her interest is in empirically addressing complex health disparities in populations through existing data. Her research addresses the quality and governance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data. Her areas of focus include the Indigenous data governance, the measurement of health disparities, cancer and building health research capabilities in regional and remote Australia.
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Kalinda holds a Certificate III in Laboratory Techniques, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Master of Public Health and a PhD in Cancer Epidemiology. She holds honorary positions at the University of Melbourne and Menzies School of Health Research and is deputy editor of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia.
Kalinda is the recipient of a number of awards. Notably, she was awarded the Northern Territory Young Australian of the Year in 2011 and more recently, the 2019 Lowitja Institutes Emerging Researcher Award. She was also a 2019-2021 Science and Technology Australia Superstar of STEM and is currently the Health Promotion of Australia’s Thinker in Residence.
Kalinda is the recipient of a number of awards. Notably, she was awarded the Northern Territory Young Australian of the Year in 2011 and more recently, the 2019 Lowitja Institutes Emerging Researcher Award. She was also a 2019-2021 Science and Technology Australia Superstar of STEM and is currently the Health Promotion of Australia’s Thinker in Residence.
Technical Vision Talk: The identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in official statistics and other data: critical issues of international significance
The realisation for Indigenous people in Australia to be counted in official statistics occurred in 1967. The identification of Indigenous people in Australia in national data highlights a range of historical and contemporary issues that require our attention. This includes how Indigenous people have been defined and by whom, as well as how identification is operationalised in official data collections. Furthermore, the completeness and accuracy of Indigenous people identified in the data and the impact this has on the measurement of health and well being must also be taken into account. Official national reporting of Indigenous people is calculated using data from censuses, vital statistics, and existing administrative data collections and/or surveys. In alignment with human rights standards, individuals in Australia can opt to self-identify as ‘Indigenous’ in the data. However, challenges persist in deriving quality Indigenous data. This can result in biases in the estimates used to describe Indigenous people and the progress of Indigenous people. Measurement issues arising from incomplete and inaccurate data pertaining to Indigenous people require serious consideration particularly if this data is being used for addressing disparities within Australian society. This talk discusses priority issues when identifying Indigenous people in the national data in Australia’s colonial context.
Meet-the-Speaker:
Kalinda will also participate in a Meet the Speaker session, where you will be able to have a deeper dive conversation about topics covered on the main stage. Accessible to WiDS Worldwide registrants.
Kalinda will also participate in a Meet the Speaker session, where you will be able to have a deeper dive conversation about topics covered on the main stage. Accessible to WiDS Worldwide registrants.