Rate My Professor Sarah Derrett

Professor Sarah Derrett is a Professor in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. She holds qualifications including BA, MPH, and PhD. Derrett serves as Director of the Injury Prevention Research Unit and as Theme Leader for Health Quality, Safety, and Community Engagement at the Centre for Health Systems and Technology. She teaches health systems and public policy in the department.

Her research centers on patient-reported health and social service pathways following injury, disability, integrated health care, quality of life, and health inequities. She leads the Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS), New Zealand's largest longitudinal cohort study examining physical, psychological, social, and financial outcomes after injury. Key publications include 'Reflections on the Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS-10): learnings and legacy' (2023, Frontiers in Public Health), 'Life satisfaction 18 months and 10 years following spinal cord injury: a prospective cohort study' (2023, Quality of Life Research), 'Predictors of subsequent injury for Māori in New Zealand' (2021, Injury), and 'Occupational injury and migrant women: scoping review findings and implications for New Zealand' (2024, Frontiers in Global Women's Health).

In 2011-12, Derrett was a New Zealand Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice based at the University of Chicago, studying integrated care in rural clinics and Community Health Centers. She is a member of the EuroQol Scientific Committee, which develops and maintains the EQ-5D health-related quality of life measure. Additionally, she holds leadership roles including executive member of Bowel Cancer New Zealand, board member of the Kōputai Lodge community mental health respite service, and chair of the Community Health Council focused on patient, whānau, and community engagement in the Southern health region.