Vishnu Khanal, PhD

Research Fellow

Qualifications:

PhD Public Health, Curtin University, Australia 2017; Master of Public Health (Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics) with HD, Curtin University, Australia 2012; MA (Sociology and Anthropology), Tribhuvan University, Nepal, 2008; Bachelor of Public Health, Institute of Medicine & Bachelor of Education (Health Education), 2007 Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

Location:

Alice Springs, NT

Biography:

Vishnu is a public health researcher with primary experience in rural health programs and applied health research methods. He started working with Menzies in October 2022 and has been involved in Optimising Digital Solutions to Improve Access to Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) Services in Remote Indigenous Communities project. In this project, Vishnu is working towards understanding and sharing consumer and provider preferences for the use of digital technologies. 

Prior to joining Menzies, Vishnu has completed his Ph.D. on maternal and child health using a prospective cohort study in a low and middle-income country. This study examined the issues facing mothers and children in the first year of childbirth; and the methodological issues in measuring breastfeeding practices in the country. He has extensive community-based experience in maternal and child health, pandemic preparedness, and infant nutrition from his previous work with UNICEF Nepal, CARE International in Nepal, Save the Children, and the Ministry of Health and Population Nepal. Vishnu’s areas of interest, which he has published extensively, include inequity in the access and utilisation of health services, global health, and maternal and child health. He has ongoing research collaborations with authors from Timor-Leste, Nigeria, Vietnam, India, Australia, and the US. 

In addition to his role at Menzies, Vishnu is a founding member of the Nepal Development Society, which is one of the leading research organizations in non-communicable disease prevention in Nepal. He is also a senior editorial board member with BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. He has been in the editorial role since 2014. 


 

Vishnu Khanal, PhD
Email
Research Themes
  • Optimising Digital Solutions to Improve Access to Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) Services in Remote Indigenous Communities
  1. Vishnu Khanal, Andy H Lee, Jane A Scott, Rajendra Karkee, &Colin W Binns. Implications of methodological differences in measuring the rates of exclusive breastfeeding in Nepal: findings from literature review and cohort study. BMC pregnancy and childbirth (2016). 
  2. Vitory Olutuase, CJ Iwu-Jaja, CP Akuoko, E Adewuyi, Vishnu Khanal. Medicines and vaccines supply chains challenges in Nigeria: a scoping review. BMC Public Health 22, 11 (2022). 
  3. Vishnu Khanal, Shiva Raj Mishra. Investment in mental health services urgently needed in Nepal. The Lancet Psychiatry (2016). 
  4. Dinesh Neupane, Penny Dawson, Robin Houston, LiladharDhakal, Jaganath Sharma, KC Gargi, Christina Lagos, Vishnu Khanal, Shiva Raj Mishra, Per Kallestrup. Lower mortality is observed among low birth weight young infants who have received home-based care by female community health volunteers in rural Nepal. BMC pregnancy and childbirth (2017). 
  5. Vishnu Khanal, Rajendra Karkee, Andy H. Lee, Colin W. Binns. Adverse obstetric symptoms and rural-urban difference in cesarean delivery in Rupandehi district, Western Nepal: A cohort study. Reproductive Health (2016). 
  6. Vishnu Khanal, Andy H. Lee, Rajendra Karkee, & Colin W. Binns. Postpartum Breastfeeding Promotion and Duration of Exclusive Breastfeeding in Western Nepal. Birth (2015).
  7. Vishnu Khanal, Jane A. Scott, Andy H. Lee, and Colin W. Binns. Incidence of Mastitis in the Neonatal Period in a Traditional Breastfeeding Society: Results of a Cohort Study. Breastfeeding Medicine (2015).
  8. Shiva Raj Mishra, Dinesh Neupane, Parash Mani Bhandari, Vishnu Khanal & Per Kallestrup. Burgeoning burden of non-communicable diseases in Nepal: A scoping review.  Globalization and Health (2015).
  9. Vishnu Khanal, JoniaLourenca Nunes Brites da Cruz, Rajendra Karkee, & Andy H Lee. Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding in Timor-Leste: findings from demographic and health survey 2009–2010. Nutrients (2014).
  10. Vishnu Khanal, Yun Zhao & Kay Sauer. Role of antenatal care and iron supplementation during pregnancy in preventing low birth weight in Nepal: comparison of national surveys 2006 and 2011.Archives of Public Health (2014).