MBChB, MRCPCH, MSc (Epidemiology), PhD (Epidemiology)
Co-Director, HEIRU
Contact details
Tel +64 4 385 5541
Fax +64 4 389 5319
Email amanda.kvalsvig@otago.ac.nz
Research interests and activities
Dr Amanda Kvalsvig has a dual background in clinical paediatrics and epidemiology, and is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department. Her research activities currently have a strong focus on New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic; she is the lead researcher of Co-Search, a COVID-19 research collaborative led by Professor Michael Baker. She is also lead researcher of SYMBIOTIC, a newly-funded HRC programme led by Michael Baker which aims to investigate the two-way relationships between infectious disease and long-term conditions.
Amanda’s other research interests are centred on the social determinants of health and wellbeing: topics include other infectious diseases (particularly meningococcal disease), breastfeeding, child poverty, and early child development. She supervises postgraduate students undertaking research on these topics, and also has a methodological interest in the challenges of analysing existing data to develop high-quality evidence for policy and practice.
Publications
Grout, L., Katar, A., Ouakrim, D. A., Summers, J. A., Kvalsvig, A., Baker, M. G., Blakely, T., & Wilson, N. (2021). Failures of quarantine systems for preventing COVID-19 outbreaks in Australia and New Zealand. Medical Journal of Australia. Advance online publication. doi: 10.5694/mja2.51240
Wilson, N., Mansoor, O. D., Boyd, M. J., Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. G. (2021). We should not dismiss the possibility of eradicating COVID-19: Comparisons with smallpox and polio. BMJ Global Health, 6, e006810. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006810
Kvalsvig, A., Wilson, N., Davies, C., Timu-Parata, C., Signal, V., & Baker, M. G. (2021). Expansion of a national Covid-19 alert level system to improve population health and uphold the values of Indigenous peoples. Lancet Regional Health: Western Pacific, 12, 100206. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100206
Choi, K., Giridharan, N., Cartmell, A., Lum, D., Signal, L., Puloka, V., Crossin, R., Gray, L., Davies, C., Baker, M., & Kvalsvig, A. (2021). Life during lockdown: A qualitative study of low-income New Zealanders' experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1538), 52-67. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Goldfeld, S., Moreno-Betancur, M., Guo, S., Mensah, F., O'Connor, E., Gray, S., … Kvalsvig, A., … O'Connor, M. (2021). Inequities in children's reading skills: The role of home reading and preschool attendance. Academic Pediatrics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.04.019
Baker, M., Kvalsvig, A., Telfar Barnard, L., Gray, L., Verrall, A., & Wilson, N. (2020). Potential preventive interventions for the “Stamp it out” and “Manage it” phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in New Zealand. Commissioned by New Zealand Ministry of Health. Wellington, New Zealand: University of Otago. 16p. Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/covid-19-modelling-and-other-commissioned-reports
Commissioned Report for External Body
Kvalsvig, A., Telfar Barnard, L., Gray, L., Wilson, N., & Baker, M. (2020). Supporting the COVID-19 pandemic response: Surveillance and outbreak analytics. Commissioned by Ministry of Health. Wellington, New Zealand: University of Otago. 33p. Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/covid-19-modelling-reports
Commissioned Report for External Body
Telfar Barnard, L., Wilson, N., Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. (2020). Modelled estimates for the spread and health impact of Covid-19 in New Zealand: Revised preliminary report to the NZ Ministry of Health. Commissioned by Ministry of Health. Wellington, New Zealand: University of Otago. 15p. Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/covid-19-modelling-reports
Commissioned Report for External Body
Wilson, N., Telfar Barnard, L., Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. (2020). Potential health impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic for New Zealand if eradication fails: Report to the NZ Ministry of Health. Commissioned by Ministry of Health. Wellington, New Zealand: University of Otago. 22p. Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/covid-19-modelling-reports
Commissioned Report for External Body
Cunningham, R., Kvalsvig, A., Peterson, D., Kuehl, S., Gibb, S., McKenzie, S., Thornley, L., & Every-Palmer, S. (2018). Stocktake report for the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry: A background report prepared for the Inquiry panel. Commissioned by Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry. Wellington, New Zealand: EleMent Research Group, University of Otago. 267p. Retrieved from https://mentalhealth.inquiry.govt.nz/whats-new/resources/university-of-otago-stocktake-report-for-the-mental-health-and-addiction-inquiry
Commissioned Report for External Body
Kvalsvig, A., D'Souza, A., Duncanson, M., & Simpson, J. (2015). Pathways to child health, development and wellbeing: Optimal environments for orchids and dandelions. An overview of the evidence. Commissioned by Ministry of Health. Wellington, New Zealand: University of Otago. 42p.
Commissioned Report for External Body
Kvalsvig, A. (2014). Better health for the new generation: Getting it right from the start. In J. Simpson, G. Oben, E. Craig, J. Adams, A. Wicken, M. Duncanson & A. Reddington (Eds.), The determinants of health for children and young people in the Hutt Valley, Capital & Coast and the Wairarapa DHBs. (pp. 157-178). Dunedin, New Zealand: New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service. [Report Contribution].
Commissioned Report for External Body
Wilson, N., Kvalsvig, A., Telfar Barnard, L., & Baker, M. G. (2020). Estimating the case fatality risk of COVID-19 using cases from outside China. medRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.15.20023499
Working Paper; Discussion Paper; Technical Report
Bentley, R., Simons, K., Kvalsvig, A., Milne, B., & Blakely, T. (2021). Short-run effects of poverty on asthma, ear infections and health service use: Analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. International Journal of Epidemiology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyab059
Journal - Research Article
Choi, K., Giridharan, N., Cartmell, A., Lum, D., Signal, L., Puloka, V., Crossin, R., Gray, L., Davies, C., Baker, M., & Kvalsvig, A. (2021). Life during lockdown: A qualitative study of low-income New Zealanders' experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1538), 52-67. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Goldfeld, S., Moreno-Betancur, M., Guo, S., Mensah, F., O'Connor, E., Gray, S., … Kvalsvig, A., … O'Connor, M. (2021). Inequities in children's reading skills: The role of home reading and preschool attendance. Academic Pediatrics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.04.019
Journal - Research Article
Gray, L., Rose, S. B., Stanley, J., Zhang, J., Tassell-Matamua, N., Puloka, V., Kvalsvig, A., … Murton, S. A., … Baker, M. G. (2021). Factors influencing individual ability to follow physical distancing recommendations in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic: A population survey. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2021.1879179
Journal - Research Article
Grout, L., Katar, A., Ouakrim, D. A., Summers, J. A., Kvalsvig, A., Baker, M. G., Blakely, T., & Wilson, N. (2021). Failures of quarantine systems for preventing COVID-19 outbreaks in Australia and New Zealand. Medical Journal of Australia. Advance online publication. doi: 10.5694/mja2.51240
Journal - Research Article
Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. G. (2021). How Aotearoa New Zealand rapidly revised its Covid-19 response strategy: Lessons for the next pandemic plan. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2021.1891943
Journal - Research Article
Shackleton, N., Li, E., Gibb, S., Kvalsvig, A., Baker, M., Sporle, A., … Milne, B. J. (2021). The relationship between income poverty and child hospitalisations in New Zealand: Evidence from longitudinal household panel data and Census data. PLoS ONE, 16(1), e0243920. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243920
Journal - Research Article
Gray, L., MacDonald, C., Tassell-Matamua, N., Stanley, J., Kvalsvig, A., Zhang, J., Murton, S., … Puloka, V., … Baker, M. G. (2020). Wearing one for the team: Views and attitudes to face covering in New Zealand/Aotearoa during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown. Journal of Primary Health Care, 12(3), 199-206. doi: 10.1071/HC20089
Journal - Research Article
Wilson, N., Boyd, M., Kvalsvig, A., Chambers, T., & Baker, M. (2020). Public health aspects of the Covid-19 response and opportunities for the post-pandemic era. Policy Quarterly, 16(3), 20-24.
Journal - Research Article
O'Connor, M., Cloney, D., Kvalsvig, A., & Goldfeld, S. (2019). Positive mental health and academic achievement in elementary school: New evidence from a matching analysis. Educational Researcher, 48(4), 205-216. doi: 10.3102/0013189x19848724
Journal - Research Article
Goldfeld, S., O'Connor, M., Chong, S., Gray, S., O'Connor, E., Woolfenden, S., … Kvalsvig, A., & Badland, H. (2018). The impact of multidimensional disadvantage over childhood on developmental outcomes in Australia. International Journal of Epidemiology, 47(5), 1485-1496. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyy087
Journal - Research Article
Oliver, J., Foster, T., Kvalsvig, A., Williamson, D. A., Baker, M. G., & Pierse, N. (2018). Risk of rehospitalisation and death for vulnerable New Zealand children. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 103(4), 327-334. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2017-312671
Journal - Research Article
Goldfeld, S., Kvalsvig, A., Incledon, E., & O'Connor, M. (2017). Epidemiology of positive mental health in a national census of children at school entry. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 71(3), 225-231. doi: 10.1136/jech-2015-207061
Journal - Research Article
Dennaoui, K., Nicholls, R. J., O'connor, M., Tarasuik, J., Kvalsvig, A., & Goldfeld, S. (2016). The English proficiency and academic language skills of Australian bilingual children during the primary school years. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 18(2), 157-165. doi: 10.3109/17549507.2015.1060526
Journal - Research Article
Goldfeld, S., O'Connor, M., Quach, J., Tarasuik, J., & Kvalsvig, A. (2015). Learning trajectories of children with special health care needs across the severity spectrum. Academic Pediatrics, 15(2), 177-184. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.09.001
Journal - Research Article
Goldfeld, S., Kvalsvig, A., Incledon, E., O'Connor, M., & Mensah, F. (2014). Predictors of mental health competence in a population cohort of Australian children. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 68, 431-437. doi: 10.1136/jech-2013-203007
Journal - Research Article
Kvalsvig, A., O'Connor, M., Redmond, G., & Goldfeld, S. (2014). The unknown citizen: Epidemiological challenges in child mental health. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 68, 1004-1008. doi: 10.1136/jech-2013-203712
Journal - Research Article
O'Connor, M., Howell-Meurs, S., Kvalsvig, A., & Goldfeld, S. (2014). Understanding the impact of special health care needs on early school functioning: A conceptual model. Child: Care, Health & Development, 41(1), 15-22. doi: 10.1111/cch.12164
Journal - Research Article
Baker, M. G., Kvalsvig, A., Zhang, J., Lake, R., Sears, A., & Wilson, N. (2012). Declining Guillain-Barré syndrome after campylobacteriosis control, New Zealand, 1988-2010. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 18(2), 226-233. doi: 10.3201/eid1802.111126
Journal - Research Article
Baker, M. G., Telfar Barnard, L., Kvalsvig, A., Verrall, A., Zhang, J., Keall, M., Wilson, N., … Howden-Chapman, P. (2012). Increasing incidence of serious infectious diseases and inequalities in New Zealand: A national epidemiological study. Lancet, 379(9821), 1112-1119. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(11)61780-7
Journal - Research Article
Kvalsvig, A., Wilson, N., Davies, C., Timu-Parata, C., Signal, V., & Baker, M. G. (2021). Expansion of a national Covid-19 alert level system to improve population health and uphold the values of Indigenous peoples. Lancet Regional Health: Western Pacific, 12, 100206. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100206
Journal - Research Other
Wilson, N., Mansoor, O. D., Boyd, M. J., Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. G. (2021). We should not dismiss the possibility of eradicating COVID-19: Comparisons with smallpox and polio. BMJ Global Health, 6, e006810. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006810
Journal - Research Other
Baker, M. G., Kvalsvig, A., & Verrall, A. J. (2020). New Zealand's COVID-19 elimination strategy. Medical Journal of Australia. Advance online publication. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50735
Journal - Research Other
Baker, M. G., Kvalsvig, A., Verrall, A. J., Telfar-Barnard, L., & Wilson, N. (2020). New Zealand's elimination strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic and what is required to make it work. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1512), 10-14. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Other
Kvalsvig, A., Summers, J., Gray, L., Telfar Barnard, L., & Baker, M. G. (2020). COVID-19 outbreaks in Aotearoa New Zealand: Urgent action is required to address systematic causes and consequences of border failures. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1527), 8-14. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Other
Kvalsvig, A., Wilson, N., Chan, L., Febery, S., Roberts, S., Betty, B., & Baker, M. G. (2020). Mass masking: An alternative to a second lockdown in Aotearoa. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1517), 8-13. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Other
Summers, J., Cheng, H.-Y., Lin, H.-H., Telfar Barnard, L., Kvalsvig, A., Wilson, N., & Baker, M. G. (2020). Potential lessons from the Taiwan and New Zealand health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Regional Health: Western Pacific. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.10 0 044
Journal - Research Other
Wilson, N., Kvalsvig, A., Telfar Barnard, L., & Baker, M. G. (2020). Case-fatality risk estimates for COVID-19 calculated by using a lag time for fatality. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26(6), 1339-1341. doi: 10.3201/eid2606.200320
Journal - Research Other
Kvalsvig, A., & Baker, M. (2006). New Zealand guidelines for early management of meningococcal disease: Time for revision? [Letter]. New Zealand Medical Journal, 119(1235). Retrieved from http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/119-1235/2017/content.pdf
Journal - Research Other
Kvalsvig, A. J., & Unsworth, D. J. (2003). The immunopathogenesis of meningococcal disease [Review]. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 56(6), 417-422.
Journal - Research Other
Kvalsvig, A. J. (2014). The joy of cochlear implants: Strategies for dealing with loss of hearing in adulthood. BMJ, 348, g2685. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g2685
Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Kvalsvig, A. (2003). Ask the elephant. Lancet, 362(December), 2079-2080.
Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Rowling, A. J., Kvalsvig, A. J., Sharples, P. M., Foot, A. B., & Unsworth, D. J. (2003). Pneumocystis carinii, cytomegalovirus, and severe transient immunodeficiency [Letter to JCP]. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 56(9), 718-719.
Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Kvalsvig, A. J. (2002). Follow up of people fitted with hearing aids: A draft patient information sheet for new hearing aid users [Comment on Follow up of people fitted with hearing aids after adult hearing screening: The need for support after fitting]. BMJ, 325(7375), 1304.
Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Kvalsvig, A. J., & Unsworth, D. J. (2002). Ethics approvals and quagmires [Clinical and scientific letters]. Clinical Medicine, 2(6), 599.
Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Kvalsvig, A. J., & Unsworth, D. J. (2002). Lumbar punctures and meningitis [Letters to the editor]. Pediatrics, 110(5), 1028.
Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Goldfeld, S., Kvalsvig, A., O'Connor, M., Redmond, G., Incledon, E., & Mensah, F. (2014). Positive mental health in children: A public health concept whose time has come. Proceedings of the New Zealand Population Health Congress: Connecting Communities, Policy and Science. (pp. 90). Retrieved from http://www.pophealthcongress.org.nz/nzphc14/programme/programme
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Kvalsvig, A., Baker, M., & Blakely, T. (2014). Prehospital treatment of meningococcal disease in New Zealand: Who gets it and does it work? Proceedings of the New Zealand Population Health Congress: Connecting Communities, Policy and Science. (pp. 186). Retrieved from http://www.pophealthcongress.org.nz/nzphc14/programme/programme
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Baker, M., Kvalsvig, A., & Wilson, N. (2020, December). The COVID-19 elimination strategy: Implications and opportunities for New Zealand [Invited]. Verbal presentation at the 6th One Health Aotearoa (OHA) Symposium, [Online].
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Kvalsvig, A. (2018, September). Pre-hospital management of meningococcal disease. Verbal presentation at the Otago Spotlight Symposium on Infectious Disease, Wellington, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Baker, M. G., Kvalsvig, A., Zhang, J., Lake, R., Sears, A., & Wilson, N. (2015, November). Guillain-Barre Syndrome incidence declines following successful countrywide control of Campylobacteriosis. Verbal presentation at the 18th International Conference on Campylobacter, Helicobacter, and Related Organisms (CHRO), Rotorua, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Duncanson, M., Kvalsvig, A., & D'Souza, A. (2015, October). Optimal environments for both orchid and dandelion children to grow and thrive: An overview of the literature. Verbal presentation at the 2nd Aotearoa New Zealand Childhood Studies Colloquium: What Does Childhood Studies Mean for Research, Policy and Practice? Dunedin, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
