Rate My Professor Andrew Wicken

Andrew Wicken is the Senior Data Analyst in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health (Dunedin) within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. He also serves as Senior Data Manager for the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service (NZCYES), a specialized unit established in 2004 and hosted by the University of Otago since March 2009 in the Paediatrics section of the Department of Women's and Children's Health, Dunedin School of Medicine. NZCYES collates national and regional data to produce annual reports on child and youth health outcomes, highlighting disparities, inequities in service provision, and contributing to the evidence base for health policy development in New Zealand. Wicken's expertise in data analysis supports the service's mission to provide accurate, up-to-date information to the health sector and share analytical capabilities with researchers.

Wicken has co-authored over 30 NZCYES publications since at least 2009, including major reports such as 'The Health Status of Children and Young People in New Zealand (2015)', 'The Determinants of Health for Children and Young People in New Zealand (2016)', 'Child Poverty Monitor 2020: Technical Report', 'Indicators of Child and Youth Health Status in Aotearoa 2021', 'Mental Health of Children and Young People in Aotearoa 2023', and 'Kanorau ā-roro: Neurodevelopmental Conditions in Children and Young People in Aotearoa (2025)'. These works cover topics like chronic conditions, intentional and unintentional injuries, oral health, Pacific and Māori child health determinants, regional wellbeing assessments, and foundations for health. Recent contributions include posters presented at the Paediatric Society of New Zealand 76th Annual Meeting in 2025, such as 'An Interactive Dashboard for Monitoring Child and Youth Health Outcomes in New Zealand', 'NZCYES Child and Youth Health Reporting in the Age of AI', and 'Predictors of Postnatal Mental Health'. Through these outputs, Wicken has impacted paediatric epidemiology and public health policy by enabling data-driven insights into child health trends and interventions across New Zealand.