Rate My Professor Peter James

Dr. Peter James is a lecturer and Course Coordinator at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine within the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University. He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours), Master of Medicine in Pharmacology, postgraduate qualifications in ethnopharmacology and public health, and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Technology Sydney. His doctoral research investigated healthcare service utilisation among Ebola survivors, with a focus on the use of traditional and complementary medicine for post-infectious complications. Previously, he served as an associate lecturer at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, and as a drug regulatory officer at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone. He is affiliated with Southern Cross University's Harvest to Health research cluster and supervises PhD and undergraduate pharmacy students on topics including traditional medicine, migrant health, health systems for emerging diseases, and pharmacy practice.

Dr. James's academic interests center on health and health services research among survivors of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, policy and integration of traditional and complementary medicine into healthcare systems, pharmaceutical education and practice, and behavioral health in low-income countries. He applies quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods research, and systematic reviews. Notable publications include "Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review" (2018), "Post-Ebola psychosocial experiences and coping mechanisms among Ebola survivors: a systematic review" (2019), "An assessment of Ebola-related stigma and its association with informal healthcare utilisation among Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone: A cross-sectional study" (2020), "Ebola survivors’ healthcare-seeking experiences and preferences of conventional, complementary and traditional medicine use: A qualitative exploratory study in Sierra Leone" (2020), and more recent articles such as "Trends and Patterns of Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting in Sierra Leone: A Retrospective Analysis of VigiFlow Data (2008–2022)" (2026) and "Harnessing traditional healers role in strengthening Africa’s public health response: A case study of Mpox outbreak" (2025). He serves on editorial boards for public health, complementary medicine, and biomedical journals, acts as a peer reviewer, and holds positions as a WHO expert review committee member on traditional and complementary medicine integration into national health systems and advisory committee member for the West African Health Organization Traditional Medicine Program. Dr. James is also co-coordinator of the Northern Rivers Multicultural Forum and a member of the Public Health Association of Australia and other professional societies.