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Prof. April Yushan WU 

吳昱杉教授

BscEcon (SYSU), MPH (CUHK), PhD (CUHK)

Research Assistant Professor

Email: aprilwu@cuhk.edu.hk

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ORCID: 0000-0002-0687-1187

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Biography

Prof WU is a health economist with a specialization in quantitative health policy and health system analysis. Her mission is to promote strategic purchasing for health - maximizing health system performance by deciding which interventions should be purchased, how, and from whom. Driven by this, she is currently examining 1) health financing, particularly the hospital and primary care payment methods, 2) innovations in healthcare delivery, particularly in hospital readmission reduction programs and algorithms, and 3) big data and machine learning techniques to evaluate service quality and identify areas for improvement, e.g., equity and efficiency in service delivery.  

 

Prof WU is serving as the principal investigator for several HMRF projects, including developing models to predict readmission risks and facilitate post-discharge care, health financing for primary care services, and inequity in algorithms. Furthermore, she is a co-investigator for commissioned projects investigating the role of private health financing in Hong Kong's healthcare landscape.

Research Interests

  • Health financing and economics

    • Hospital care and primary care payment methods

    • Public and private financing, e.g., private health insurance

  • Innovation in healthcare delivery

    • Hospital readmission reduction programs

    • Social-medical integration

  • Big data and machine learning for better care

    • Inequity in algorithms

    • Clinical risk prediction modelling using Electronic health records (EHRs) data

Recent Funded Research Projects 

  • Health and Medical Research (HMFR) grants:

    • Integrating social determinants of health (SDH) into electronic health records (EHRs): incorporating area-level SDH to augment predictive model identifying elderlies at high risk of readmissions– 21220971- Health and Medical Research Fund,  March 2025 – April 2026, HKD$ 499,966

    • Strategic purchasing for health: developing a framework for the design and simulation of a need-based capitation payment model for community-based primary healthcare in Hong Kong, Health and Medical Research Fund - Research Fellowship Scheme, September 2024 – August 2026, HKD$774,560

    • Developing a checklist to guide the implementation of readmission risk prediction model for heart failure patients after discharge: a systematic scoping review and semi-structured interview, Health and Medical Research Fund, September 2023 –December 2024, HK$399,999

    • Comparing the timing, diagnosis, and patient characteristics among short-, medium-, and long-term hospital readmissions in a cohort of elderly patients, Health and Medical Research Fund, May 2022 –September 2023, HK$99,999

Selected Publications

  1. Wu Y*, Wang YX, Zhao Shi, …, & Yeoh, E.K. Analysis of emergency department use across income groups following an increase in cost-sharing, Hong Kong. JAMA Network Open. 2023

  2. Yeoh K, Wu Y*, Chakraborty S, et al. Global Health System Resilience during Encounters with Stressors - Lessons Learnt from Cancer Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. _Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol)._ 2023;35(4):e289-e300.

  3. Wu Y*, Fung H, Shum H, …, & Yeoh, E.K. Evaluation of Length of Stay, Care Volume, In-Hospital Mortality, and Emergency Readmission Rate Associated with Use of Diagnosis-Related Groups for Internal Resource Allocation in Public Hospitals in Hong Kong. JAMA Network Open. 2022;5(2):e2145685. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.45685

  4. Shen, M., Wu, Y. , & Xiang, X. (2021). Hukou-based rural–urban disparities in maternal health service utilization and delivery modes in two Chinese cities in Guangdong Province. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20(1), 1-10.

  5. Shen M, He W, Li L, Wu Y*. Comparison of health care utilization among users of public and private community health centres in urban China[J]. Family Practice, 2020, 37(6): 738-743.

  6. Wu Y*, Yan X, Dong D, Chung RYN, Yeoh EK. Equitable exit strategy is required: lessons learnt from Hong Kong’s current resurgence of local outbreaks among individuals from highly deprived neighbourhoods[J]. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2020, 74(12): 1080-1080.

  7. Wu Y,* Yan X, Zhao S, …, Chung RYN. Association of time to diagnosis with socioeconomic position and geographical accessibility to healthcare among symptomatic COVID-19 patients: A retrospective study in Hong Kong[J]. Health & place, 2020, 66: 102465.

  8. Shen M, He W, Yeoh E K, Wu Y*. The association between an increased reimbursement cap for chronic disease coverage and healthcare utilization in China: an interrupted time series study[J]. Health policy and planning, 2020, 35(8): 1029-1038.

Last Updated: 18 Feb 2025

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