M. Fikru Rizal
Research Fellow, Health Economics Group, Monash School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Health economics | Mental health | Health policy
M. Fikru Rizal
Dr Muhammad Fikru Rizal is a Research Fellow in the Health Economics Group within the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, Australia.
His research focuses on how economic conditions and health-system design shape health, healthcare use, quality of life, and financial protection, with particular interest in inequality, mental health, healthcare access, and policy evaluation.
Profile
Fikru is a medical doctor by training. He holds an MSc in Health Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a PhD in Health Economics from the Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School. His doctoral research examined the economic determinants of health and healthcare utilisation.
He works with large longitudinal and linked datasets, applied econometric methods, inequality analysis, and health economic evaluation. Alongside academic research, he has worked with policy and consulting partners on applied health financing and evaluation projects.
Research Interests
Health economics
Healthcare use, economic evaluation, health-system performance, and policy design.
Inequality in health
Socioeconomic gradients in health outcomes, healthcare utilisation, and access.
Mental health
Treatment gaps, loneliness, social isolation, and quality-of-life measurement.