Rate My Professor Judith Adams

Dr. Judith Adams serves as a Research Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health (Dunedin) at the University of Otago, part of the Faculty of Medicine within the Health Sciences Division. She holds the qualifications BSc(Hons), BA, MBChB, and MPH, reflecting her training as a medical doctor with advanced expertise in public health. Adams works closely with the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service (NZCYES), applying her skills in analyzing large administrative data sets to examine the epidemiology of child and adolescent health conditions. She also collates and summarizes research evidence concerning the management of child and adolescent health issues as well as public policies affecting the wellbeing of children and young people. Her research focuses on child and adolescent health, contributing essential data to inform health service planning and policy in New Zealand.

Adams has authored or co-authored numerous influential technical reports and publications that address critical child health challenges. Notable works include the Child Poverty Monitor technical reports for 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022; Health and Wellbeing of Under-15 Year Olds in Aotearoa 2018, along with regional reports for Canterbury and West Coast, Hawke’s Bay, and Hutt Valley, Capital & Coast, and Wairarapa in 2018 and 2019; the Te Ohonga Ake series on the health status, determinants, and chronic conditions of Māori children and young people (2012–2016); The Health Status of Pacific Children and Young People in New Zealand (2015); State of Child Health: Acute Rheumatic Fever in Aotearoa New Zealand (2022); and Kanorau ā-roro: Neurodevelopmental Conditions in Children and Young People in Aotearoa (2025). These commissioned reports for the Ministry of Health, Paediatric Society of New Zealand, and Te Whatu Ora districts provide demographic profiles, health outcomes, and evidence for interventions on issues like poverty, infectious diseases, obesity, neurodevelopmental disorders, and ethnic disparities. Her contributions extend to conference posters presented at Paediatric Society of New Zealand meetings on topics such as neurodevelopmental disorder demographics, child health dashboards, and postnatal mental health predictors, enhancing the field's understanding and policy impact.