Dennis Asante

Dr Dennis Asante is a Research Fellow with the Central Queensland Rural and Remote Health team at James Cook University (JCU), with expertise spanning rural and remote health, Indigenous health, healthy ageing, health services research and health equity. He holds a PhD in Public Health, a Master of Public Administration, and postgraduate training in biostatistics. His research focuses on co-designing, implementing and evaluating evidence-based and culturally responsive approaches to improve health equity in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. His research has generated evidence on multimorbidity, psychological distress, unmet healthcare needs and access to primary and specialist services among older adults living in rural Australia.

Dr Asante brings complementary expertise in mixed-methods research, epidemiology, health services research, policy evaluation and quantitative data analysis. He has worked collaboratively with rural health services, researchers and community stakeholders to identify barriers to care and develop evidence to inform more responsive and equitable health systems. His current research at JCU extends this expertise to rural and remote Central Queensland, including work addressing Indigenous health, healthy ageing and culturally responsive approaches to improving access to bowel cancer care.

With an established peer-reviewed publication record and multidisciplinary research experience, Dr Asante has demonstrated capacity to undertake rigorous quantitative and qualitative research and translate findings into practical recommendations for rural health policy and practice. His research on rural older adults has examined unmet healthcare needs, chronic conditions, mental health and patterns of primary and specialist service use, providing a strong evidence base for addressing the complex workforce and service-delivery challenges facing rural communities.