Rate My Professor Bridget Robson

Associate Professor Bridget Robson, of Ngāti Raukawa affiliation, holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago's Wellington campus, part of the Faculty of Medicine. With qualifications including a BA and DPH, she currently serves as Associate Dean Māori and Director of Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare, a leading Māori health research centre. Her academic and research career is dedicated to addressing health inequities, with key interests encompassing social and economic determinants of health, inequitable treatment in the health system, the impact of racism on health, and the advancement of kaupapa Māori epidemiology methods. Notable projects under her leadership include serving as Principal Investigator for "Unequal Treatment: The Role of Health Services," the Mauri Tangata project investigating unemployment's effects on health, and multiple initiatives focused on Māori cancer outcomes. She has also delivered Tackling Inequalities workshops across the health sector and co-authored influential reports such as Hauora: Standards of Health III.

Bridget Robson's scholarly impact is evidenced by her extensive publication record, featuring highly cited works such as "Indigenous and tribal peoples' health (The Lancet–Lowitja Institute Global Collaboration): a population study" published in The Lancet in 2016, which has garnered over 1,260 citations; "Hauora: Māori Standards of Health IV: A study of the years 2000–2005" (2007, 569 citations); "Decades of disparity: ethnic mortality trends in New Zealand 1980–1999" (2003, 481 citations); "Survival disparities in Indigenous and non-Indigenous New Zealanders with colon cancer: the role of patient comorbidity, treatment and health service factors" (2010, 217 citations); and "Widening ethnic mortality disparities in New Zealand 1981–99" (2005, 159 citations). In October 2025, she was honored with the Maarire Goodall Supreme Award, the highest accolade from Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa, Māori Medical Practitioners Association, recognizing her decades-long advocacy for ethnicity data in Indigenous health monitoring, research on Māori health inequities, and mentorship of Māori medical students. Her contributions have profoundly shaped health policy, practice, and education in New Zealand, fostering greater equity and understanding of Indigenous health challenges.