Rate My Professor Paula King

Research Associate Professor Paula King serves as a key researcher at Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare within the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington. A vocationally registered public health medicine specialist (FNZCPHM), she is also an Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education in Australia. King holds advanced qualifications including a PhD from the University of Otago (2020) on Oranga Mokopuna: Ethical co-designing for the Pluriverse, Master of Public Health (MPH), Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB from the University of Auckland), Diploma in Child Health (DCH), Bachelor of Music (BMus), and Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHB). Her career includes roles such as HRC Fellow and earlier positions like Public Health Medicine Registrar. In 2013, she received Health Research Council funding through an Emerging Researcher Award for a project titled Transforming research into child health equity: a 21st century approach, valued at $250,000 over four years.

King's academic interests focus on Māori health, upholding tāngata whenua rights to health and wellbeing, and the intersections of racism, ableism/disablism, state care, youth justice residences, prisons, and Māori health equity. Her Kaupapa Māori research employs mixed methods including epidemiology, qualitative approaches, participatory creative methods, and ethical co-designing, informed by Indigenous ways of being, knowing, relating, and doing. Notable publications include 'Health in justice or health injustice? Indigenous Māori experiences of primary care following release from New Zealand prisons: a national record study' (Social Science & Medicine, 2025), 'The undercounting of Indigenous Māori imprisoned by the New Zealand carceral state: a national record study' (Health & Justice, 2025), 'Māori health, wellbeing, and disability in Aotearoa New Zealand: A national survey' (International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 2025), 'Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai: The operationalisation of Māori data sovereignty in Aotearoa: A scoping literature review' (Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2026), and 'COVID-19: we must not forget about Indigenous health and wellbeing' (Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2020). With over 750 citations across 41 publications, her work advances Indigenous health equity and informs discussions on state accountability for health harms.