Rate My Professor Troy Ruhe

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.