Rate My Professor Debbie Peterson

Dr. Debbie Peterson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Suicide and Mental Health Research Group at the University of Otago, Wellington, with affiliations to the Department of Public Health and the Department of Psychological Medicine. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Master of Arts (Applied) (MA Applied), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Her research specializations encompass mental health research, focusing on issues affecting people with experience of mental illness, such as recovery, suicide, stigma, discrimination, consumer involvement, employment, and quality of services. Peterson's own experience of mental illness informs her research practice, providing a lived perspective to her studies on health disparities and service improvements. She is also a member of the EleMent: Mental health research group in the Department of Public Health, contributing to projects examining integrated care, Māori health inequities, and physical health outcomes for those with mental health conditions.

Peterson has made substantial contributions through co-authored peer-reviewed publications utilizing national population data. Key works include Peterson, D., Imlach, F., & Cunningham, R. (2025). Mental health and aging in New Zealand: mixed-methods analysis of experiences of healthcare from a survey of older adults with mental health conditions, published in Kōtuitui; Cunningham, R., Carr, G., Every-Palmer, S., Peterson, D. et al. (2025). Place of death for people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in New Zealand: A national retrospective cohort study, Journal of Palliative Care; Cunningham, R., Artus, J., Imlach, F., Stanley, J., Haitana, T., Lockett, H., Peterson, D., & Gerard, C. (2024). Primary care experience in people with mental health conditions: Results from a national patient experience survey, New Zealand Medical Journal; Wilson, M., Cram, F., Gibb, S., Gray, S., McLeod, K., Peterson, D., & Lockett, H. (2024). The impact of Individual Placement and Support on employment, health and social outcomes: Quasi-experimental evidence from Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Medical Journal. Earlier publications feature Cunningham, R., Peterson, D. et al. (2014). Premature mortality in adults using New Zealand psychiatric services; Cunningham, R., Peterson, D. et al. (2019). Prediction of cardiovascular disease risk among people with severe mental illness; and Cunningham, R., Sarfati, D., Peterson, D. et al. (2016). Like Minds, Like Mine: Seventeen Years of Countering Stigma. Her research addresses diagnostic overshadowing, discrimination in physical healthcare, acute mental health facility design, and cancer experiences in the context of mental illness.