Rate My Professor Troy Ruhe

Dr Troy Ruhe is a Research Fellow at Va'a o Tautai – Centre for Pacific Health in the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Physical Education (Honours) from the University of Otago. His career includes roles in Pacific health promotion, such as developing a non-communicable disease physical activity strategy with Te Marae Ora, the Cook Islands Ministry of Health, during his PhD. He contributed to the Cook Islands Sport and National Olympic Committee's first physical activity policy and served as the Pacific region's physical activity specialist for World Health Organization-funded projects. Ruhe's work emphasizes integrating indigenous Pacific ways of knowing into mainstream research methodologies.

Ruhe's research focuses on Pacific health inequities using strengths-based quantitative methods and linked administrative big data. He investigates factors influencing health outcomes for Pacific children and youth in Aotearoa New Zealand, including oral health, autism/takiwātanga identification and case complexity, mental health and substance use, hospitalisations, health service utilization, and the role of natural and built environments. Key publications include 'Health service utilization among autistic youth in Aotearoa New Zealand: A nationwide cross-sectional study' (2024), 'Is parent education a factor in identifying autism/takiwātanga in an ethnic cohort of Pacific children in Aotearoa, New Zealand?' (2024), 'Parents' education and Pasifika children's oral health in Aotearoa/New Zealand' (2023), 'Examining case complexity among Pasifika with autism/Takiwātanga' (2022), and 'A Tivaivai research framework: A strengths-based quantitative approach to Pacific health research' (2025). He has received the inaugural Tofā Sāili Pacific Early Career Award for Distinction in Research, the 20Twenties 2022 award, and early-career recognition in the Otago Research Awards. Currently, he leads a four-year Health Research Council postdoctoral fellowship ($430,102) to develop a tool measuring Pacific health research impacts, prioritizing Pacific Data Sovereignty and community benefits.