QUT - Academic profiles - Professor Steven McPhail

Steve is a health systems innovator, health services researcher, health economist and clinician. He is Director of the Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI) and Director of the Centre for Healthcare Transformation at the Queensland University of Technology, where he is the Professor of Health Services Research. He is passionate about empowering health services to deliver high-value patient-centred care, particularly improving care for vulnerable members of our community and their families. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed journal articles and been awarded more than $120 million in competitive research funding. His work has been impactful locally and internationally, including having been cited in policy-related documents from the World Bank, EU, OECD and World Health Organisation.

+61 7 31386427

steven.mcphail@qut.edu.au

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Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation

Personal details

Positions

Professor in Health Services Research
Faculty of Health,
School of Public Health & Social Work

Research field

Public health

Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosphy (University of Queensland)
Bachelor of Physiotherapy (University of Queensland)

Publications

Jun, D., Johnston, V., McPhail, S. & O’Leary, S. (2021). A Longitudinal Evaluation of Risk Factors and Interactions for the Development of Nonspecific Neck Pain in Office Workers in Two Cultures. Human Factors, 63(4), 663–683. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211777
McPhail, S., Nelson, M., Russell, T., Crossley, K. & Bourke, M. (2021). Cost-effectiveness of telerehabilitation versus traditional care after total hip replacement: A trial-based economic evaluation. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 27(6), 359–366. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211787
Zhang, Y., Cramb, S., McPhail, S., Pacella, R., Van Netten, J., Cheng, Q., Derhy, P., Kinnear, E. & Lazzarini, P. (2021). Factors associated with healing of diabetes-related foot ulcers: observations from a large prospective real-world cohort. Diabetes Care, 44(7). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212118
Nickels, M., Aitken, L., Barnett, A., Walsham, J. & McPhail, S. (2020). Acceptability, safety, and feasibility of in-bed cycling with critically ill patients. Australian Critical Care, 33(3), 236–243. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/199493
Goyal, V., McPhail, S., Hurley, F., Grimwood, K., Marchant, J., Masters, I. & Chang, A. (2020). Cost of hospitalization for bronchiectasis exacerbation in children. Respirology, 25(12), 1250–1256. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211779
Valery, P., Bernardes, C., Stuart, K., Hartel, G., McPhail, S., Skoien, R., Rahman, T., Clark, P., Horsfall, L., Hayward, K., Gupta, R. & Powell, E. (2020). Development and Evaluation of the Supportive Needs Assessment Tool for Cirrhosis (SNAC). Patient Preference and Adherence, 14, 599–611. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/211781
Zhang, Y., Lazzarini, P., McPhail, S., van Netten, J., Armstrong, D. & Pacella, R. (2020). Global disability burdens of diabetes-related lower-extremity complications in 1990 and 2016. Diabetes Care, 43(5), 964–974. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/200651
Chan, R., Blades, R., Jones, L., Downer, T., Peet, S., Button, E., Wyld, D., McPhail, S., Doolan, M. & Yates, P. (2019). A single-blind, randomised controlled trial of StrataXRT(R)– A silicone-based film-forming gel dressing for prophylaxis and management of radiation dermatitis in patients with head and neck cancer. Radiotherapy and Oncology, 139, 72–78. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131358
Batten, H., McPhail, S., Mandrusiak, A., Varghese, P. & Kuys, S. (2019). Gait speed as an indicator of prosthetic walking potential following lower limb amputation. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 43(2), 196–203. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212769
Powell, E., Skoien, R., Rahman, T., Clark, P., O'Beirne, J., Hartel, G., Stuart, K., McPhail, S., Gupta, R., Boyd, P. & Valery, P. (2019). Increasing Hospitalization Rates for Cirrhosis: Overrepresentation of Disadvantaged Australians. EClinicalMedicine, 11, 44–53. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212920

QUT ePrints

For more publications by Steven, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).

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2025

Borg, S. J., Cameron, C. M., Luetsch, K., Rolley, A., Geraghty, T., McPhail, S. & McCreanor, V. (2025). Prevalence of opioid use in adults with spinal cord injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 48(2), 170–188. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/247763
Xia, Q., Senanayake, S. J., Kularatna, S., Brain, D., McPhail, S. M., Parsonage, W., Eastgate, M., Barnes, A., Brown, N. & Carter, H. E. (2025). Cost-effectiveness analysis of microwave ablation versus robot-assisted partial nephrectomy for patients with small renal masses in Australia. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations, 43(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/253687
Betar, N., Donovan, M., Tyack, Z., Warren, J., McPhail, S. M., Vujcich, E. & Brown, J. (2025). Recovery in patients undergoing ablative fractional carbon dioxide laser for adult hypertrophic burn scars: A longitudinal cohort study. Burns, Article 107300, 51(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/254102
Bamgboje-Ayodele, A., Boscolo, A., Burger, M., Hutchings, O., Shaw, M., Shaw, T., Tariq, A., Naicker, S., McPhail, S. & Baysari, M. (2025). Health IT Implementation and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinician-IT Dynamics: Qualitative Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, Article e57847, 27. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/255574
Kuwornu, J. P., Afoakwah, C., Koomson, I., Tyack, Z., Brain, D., Naicker, S., Xia, Q. & McPhail, S. M. (2025). Improving our understanding of the longitudinal relationship between health-related quality of life and multimorbidity: The role of personality traits. Social Science and Medicine, Article 117820, 368. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/255891
Afoakwah, C., Warren, J., Mccreanor, V., Banu, S., Schuetz, M., McPhail, S. M. & Vallmuur, K. (2025). Counting the cost of hospitalised injury using administrative data in Australia: three considerations from a retrospective cohort data linkage study. BMJ Open, Article e087878, 15(2). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/255910
Afoakwah, C., Kuwornu, P., Koomson, I., Brain, D., Xia, Q., McPhail, S. & Vallmuur, K. (2025). Recovery trajectories after a serious injury or illness: a longitudinal evaluation of health-related quality of life in an Australian cohort. Quality of Life Research. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/255908
Chan, R. J., Crawford-Williams, F., Han, C. Y., Jones, L., Chan, A., McKavanagh, D., Ryan, M., Carrington, C., Packer, R. L., Crichton, M., Hart, N. H., McKinnell, E., Gosper, M., Ryan, J., Crowe, B., Joseph, R., Ee, C., Lee, J., McPhail, S. M., Cuff, K., Teleni, L. & Emery, J. (2025). Implementing a nurse-enabled, integrated, shared-care model involving specialists and general practitioners in early breast cancer post-treatment follow-up (EMINENT): a single-centre, open-label, phase 2, parallel-group, pilot, randomised, controlled trial. eClinicalMedicine, Article 103090, 81. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/256149
Donovan, T., Abell, B., McPhail, S. M. & Carter, H. E. (2025). Development of an instrument (Cost-IS) to estimate costs of implementation strategies for digital health solutions: a modified e-Delphi study. Implementation Science, Article 13, 20(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/256266

2024

Kularatna, S., Sharma, P., Senanayake, S., McCreanor, V., Hewage, S., Ngo, L., Ranasinghe, I., Martin, P., Davis, J., Walters, T., McPhail, S. & Parsonage, W. (2024). Long-term Patient and Health Service Outcomes of Ablation and Antiarrhythmic Drugs in Atrial Fibrillation: A Comparative Systematic Review. Cardiology in Review, 32(2), 162–169. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/239767
Abell, B. R., Eagleson, K., Auld, B., Bora, S., Justo, R., Parsonage, W., Sharma, P., Kularatna, S. & McPhail, S. M. (2024). Implementing neurodevelopmental follow-up care for children with congenital heart disease: A scoping review with evidence mapping. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 66(2), 161–175. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/241463
Vo, L. K., Allen, M. J., Cunich, M., Thillainadesan, J., McPhail, S. M., Sharma, P., Wallis, S., McGowan, K. & Carter, H. E. (2024). Stakeholders' preferences for the design and delivery of virtual care services: A systematic review of discrete choice experiments. Social Science and Medicine, 340. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/245300
Bracci, E., Barnett, A., Brown, C., Callaway, L., Cardona, M., Carter, H., Graves, N., Hillman, K. M., Lee, X., McPhail, S., White, B., Willmott, L. & Harvey, G. (2024). Process evaluation of a tailored nudge intervention to promote appropriate care and treatment of older patients at the end-of-life. BMC Geriatrics, Article 202, 24(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/247192
Schumacher, A. E., Kyu, H. H., Aali, A., Abbafati, C., Abbas, J., Abbasgholizadeh, R., Abbasi, M. A., Abbasian, M., Abd ElHafeez, S., Abdelmasseh, M., Abd-Elsalam, S., Abdelwahab, A., Abdollahi, M., Abdoun, M., Abdullahi, A., Abdurehman, A. M., Abebe, M., Abedi, A., Abedi, A., Abegaz, T. M., Abeldaño Zuñiga, R. A., Abhilash, E. S., Abiodun, O. O., Aboagye, R. G., Abolhassani, H., Abouzid, M., Abreu, L. G., Abrha, W. A., Abrigo, M. R. M., Abtahi, D., Abu Rumeileh, S., Abu-Rmeileh, N. M. E., Aburuz, S., Abu-Zaid, A., Acuna, J. M., Adair, T., Addo, I. Y., Adebayo, O. M., Adegboye, O. A., Adekanmbi, V., Aden, B., Adepoju, A. V., Adetunji, C. O., Adeyeoluwa, T. E., Adeyomoye, O. I., Adha, R., Adibi, A., Adikusuma, W., Adnani, Q. E. S., Adra, S., Afework, A., Afolabi, A. A., Afraz, A., Afyouni, S., Afzal, S., Agasthi, P., Aghamiri, S., Agodi, A., Agyemang-Duah, W., Ahinkorah, B. O., Ahmad, A., Ahmad, D., Ahmad, F., Ahmad, M. M., Ahmad, T., Ahmadi, K., Ahmadzade, A. M., Ahmadzade, M., Ahmed, A., Ahmed, H., Ahmed, L. A., Ahmed, M. B., Ahmed, S. A., Ajami, M., Aji, B., Ajumobi, O., Akalu, G. T., Akara, E. M., Akinosoglou, K., Akkala, S., Akyirem, S., Al Hamad, H., Al Hasan, S. M., Al Homsi, A., Al Qadire, M., Ala, M., Aladelusi, T. O., AL-Ahdal, T. M. A., Alalalmeh, S. O., Al-Aly, Z., Alam, K., Alam, M., Alam, Z., Al-amer, R. M., Alanezi, F. M., Alanzi, T. M., Albashtawy, M., AlBataineh, M. T., Aldridge, R. W., Alemi, S., Al-Eyadhy, A., Al-Gheethi, A. A. S., Alhabib, K. F., Alhalaiqa, F. A. N., Al-Hanawi, M. K., Ali, A., Ali, A., Ali, B. A., Ali, H., Ali, M. U., Ali, R., Ali, S. S. S., Ali, Z., Alian Samakkhah, S., Alicandro, G., Alif, S. M., Aligol, M., Alimi, R., Aliyi, A. A., Al-Jumaily, A., Aljunid, S. M., Almahmeed, W., Al-Marwani, S., Al-Maweri, S. A. A., Almazan, J. U., Al-Mekhlafi, H. M., Almidani, O., Alomari, M. A., Alonso, N., Alqahtani, J. S., Alqutaibi, A. Y., Al-Sabah, S. K., Altaf, A., Al-Tawfiq, J. A., Altirkawi, K. A., Alvi, F. J., Alwafi, H., Al-Worafi, Y. M., Aly, H., Alzoubi, K. H., Amare, A. T., Ameyaw, E. K., Amhare, A. F., Amin, T. T., Amindarolzarbi, A., Aminian Dehkordi, J., Amiri, S., Amu, H., Amugsi, D. A., Amzat, J., Ancuceanu, R., Anderlini, D., Andrade, P. P., Andrei, C. L., Andrei, T., Angappan, D., Anil, A., Anjum, A., Antony, C. M., Antriyandarti, E., Anuoluwa, I. A., Anwar, S. L., Anyasodor, A. E., Appiah, S. C. Y., Aqeel, M., Arabloo, J., Arabzadeh Bahri, R., Arab-Zozani, M., Arafat, M., Araújo, A. M., Aravkin, A. Y., Aremu, A., Ariffin, H., Aripov, T., Armocida, B., Arooj, M., Artamonov, A. A., Artanti, K. D., Arulappan, J., Aruleba, I. T., Aruleba, R. T., Arumugam, A., Asaad, M., Asgary, S., Ashemo, M. Y., Ashraf, M., Asika, M. O., Athari, S. S., Atout, M. M. W., Atreya, A., Attia, S., Aujayeb, A., Avan, A., Awotidebe, A. W., Ayala Quintanilla, B. P., Ayanore, M. A., Ayele, G. M., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., Ayyoubzadeh, S. M., Azadnajafabad, S., Azhar, G. S., Aziz, S., Azzam, A. Y., Babashahi, M., Babu, A. S., Badar, M., Badawi, A., Badiye, A. D., Bendak, S., Demant, D., Do, T. C., Francis, K. L., Franklin, R. C., Gautam, R. K., Ghasemi, M. R., Hossain, M. B., Hosseini, M. S., Islam, M. R., Islam, M. M., Le, N. H. H., Li, M. C., Li, W., Lim, L. L., Liu, X., Marx, W., McPhail, S. M., Moraga, P., Morawska, L., Mousavi, S. E., Nguyen, D. H., Nguyen, P. T., Nguyen, V. T., Osuagwu, U. L., Rahman, M. M., Rahman, M. A., Sayeed, M. A., Shaw, D. H., Singh, B. B., Sun, J., Tian, J., Tonelli, M., Wang, C., Wang, F., Wang, S., Wang, Y. P., Ward, P., Yang, L., Zhao, Y., Murray, C. J. L. & other (2024). Global age-sex-specific mortality, life expectancy, and population estimates in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1950–2021, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet, 403(10440), 1989–2056. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/247827
Tyack, Z., Carter, H., Allen, M., Senanayake, S., Warhurst, K., Naicker, S., Abell, B. & McPhail, S. M. (2024). Multicomponent processes to identify and prioritise low-value care in hospital settings: a scoping review. BMJ Open, Article e078761, 14(4), e078761. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/248067

A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/steven.mcphail

Supervision

Current supervisions

Informing Health Service Change in Queensland for Childhood Heart Disease: Primary Care and Patient Experience
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Bridget Abell
Prescription opioid dispensing in adult spinal cord injured populations: Prevalence, health use and economic burden
PhD, Mentoring Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Victoria McCreanor
Advancing atrial fibrillation care in Australia
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Adjunct Associate Professor Sanjeewa Kularatna, Professor Will Parsonage, Dr David Brain
Chronic wet cough in children: Economic burden of disease and aetiology
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Julie Marchant, Adjunct Professor Nicholas Graves, Professor Anne Chang, Dr Hannah Carter
Measuring the cost and burden of Bronchiectasis in Australia
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Anne Chang, Associate Professor Julie Marchant, Adjunct Associate Professor Sanjeewa Kularatna
Pre-hospital trauma triage: Epidemiology, accuracy and economics
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Kirsten Vallmuur

Completed supervisions (Doctorate)

Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)

The supervisions listed above are only a selection.

Professor Steven McPhail

Biography

Research centres

Personal details

Positions

Research field

Qualifications

Publications

Selected publications

QUT ePrints

All publicationsLatest publications

2025

2024

Supervision

Current supervisions

Completed supervisions (Doctorate)

Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)