°Õ³ó±šĢż“”¹óøéĢżĀ is committed to increasing the visibility of womenās leadership in Australia by celebrating women for using their skills and talents to advocate for change and to benefit society.
A social scientist in the University of SydneyāsĀ , Professor LeaskĀ studies what people think, feel and do about vaccination. She is dedicated to increasing the take-up of vaccination by focusing on the root cause of why families donāt vaccinate.
āIt is a popular misunderstanding that people donāt vaccinate solely because they are given āfake newsā about the safety of vaccination," said Professor Leask.
"The truth is that most people who have chosen not to vaccinate do so because of a previous bad experience or because they have an alternative belief system. People most likely to be persuaded to vaccinate are the undecided.ā
'sĀ maternal grandmother was opposed to medical interventions of all kinds, so her own mother did not vaccinate her children until challenged by a doctor.
An important factor in Professor Leaskās work is understanding human nature and the power of persuasion.
As a former midwife, Professor Leask worked with teenage mothers who were unpersuaded by health messages that simply told them what to do. As a result, she learnt instead āthat changing people who are resistant requires working with their own motivationsā.
In 2011 Professor Leask published a commissioned paper for the prestigious journalĀ NatureĀ that called for solutions to the vaccine hesitancy problem. There followed global acknowledgement of the need to target the fence-sitters, rather than entrenched vaccine refusers.
Today Professor Leask is chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Working Group on Measuring Behavioural and Social Drivers of Vaccination, which is creating tools for countries to diagnose the causes of low vaccination rates.
In Australia she founded the Collaboration on Social Science in Immunisation. She is often asked why there are so many Australians in this field now that national research in social and behavioural aspects of vaccination is getting global recognition.
As a visiting professorial fellow at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Professor Leask was responsible for establishing its social science program. Apart from being an adviser to the WHO on vaccination, she has also advised UNICEF, the European Office of the WHO, the US Presidentās Cancer Panel and the American and Australian governments on vaccination policy.
Congratulating her on the award Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Michael Spence, said, āIām delighted for Professor Leask and for her colleagues named in the 100 Women of Influence list. An important factor in Professor Leaskās work is understanding human nature and the power of persuasion.
"This insight and her leadership have had an impact on vaccination rates and therefore on reducing human suffering, an impressive and ongoing achievement.ā
Professor Leask leads a team of nine postdoctoral researchers and PhD students. Together they are learning why only 20 percent of children get an influenza vaccine and why emergency nurses arenāt recommending vaccination enough; but also recognising successes such as how immunisation rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander five-year-olds are now higher than non-Aboriginal children.Ā Ā
This week the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance launched the final part of Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation, a suite ofĀ tools to help health professionals have conversations with parents who hesitate or refuse to vaccinate, . Professor Leask, describes the initiative asĀ āa labour of love produced with an incredible teamā.Ā
In a lovely gesture of acclaim from her team in 2016 āWhat would Julie do?ā mousepads were suddenly seen in the office of her staff.
āThis whimsical gesture was a moment of realisation - to embrace my leadership role and use it for good,ā Professor Leask said.
āIām incredibly proud to have received this recognition from the Australian Financial Review in the company of so many amazing women contributing to social change. I hope all of us inspire other women to use their power and influence for the good of the community.ā
The seventh year of the Australian Financial Review's 100 Women of Influence list continued to acknowledge the contribution of the University of Sydney academics to the community. In addition to Professor Leask finalists were: