Contact Details
- Position
- Research Fellow
- Qualifications
- MPH (Otago), MA (Otago,) Certificate Te Ara Reo Māori (Advanced), Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
- Research summary
- I am a health and social sciences researcher, with a background in public health.
- Teaching
My main research interests focus on health equity for priority populations, including Maori,Pacific peoples, and people with disabilities, as well as supporting older people and children.
Formerly I taught into the health sciences first year (HSFY) programme as a Senior Tutor and Teaching Fellow for Engl 124 (Language and Communication/Effective Communication). I also tutored the Summer school paper ENGL 127 Effective Writing.
- Memberships
- Secretary, Cantores Choir Executive, Otago University Students Association (OUSA)
- Centre for Co-Created Ageing Research (CCREATE), University of Auckland
- interRAI Research Network (iRN), interRAI New Zealand
- Transport Research Network (TRN), University of Otago
- Public Health Association (PHA) of New Zealand
- Collaboration of Ageing Research Excellence (CARE), University of Otago
Research
My main research interests are health-focused including reducing inequities for priority populations, including Māori, Pacific peoples, and people with disabilities, as well as supporting older people and children.
I have substantial qualitative experience and am also comfortable working with mixed methods and quantitative approaches. I am interested in understanding experiences and telling stories via a range of methodologies and data, providing an evidence base that can lead to improvements in health and social systems and inform policy.
I have a strong interest in the natural environment and its pathways to health and wellbeing and completed a Master’s dissertation in this area.
I have researched a vast range of public health / social science topics as both a researcher and public health analyst for about 15 years.
Additional details
Sarah grew up in a farming family in Southern Aotearoa New Zealand and has subsequently lived and worked in the South Island. She has travelled extensively to Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe.
As a researcher in health and social sciences with a background in public health, Sarah’s main research interests are focused on reducing inequities for priority populations, including Māori, Pacific Peoples, and people with disabilities, as well as supporting older people and children. Her Va'a o Tautai research role has her undergoing a qualitative research project called 'Understanding Big Data', which is made up of two case studies – one in child protection and one in ageing.
Sarah has a strong interest in the natural environment and its pathways to health and wellbeing and has around 15 years of experience as both a researcher and public health analyst.
Publications
Keddell, E., Colhoun, S., Norris, P., & Willing, E. (2025). ‘If you thought it was going to make a difference, you'd do it straight away’: School staff decisions to report to Child Protection. Child & Family Social Work. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/cfs.13285 Journal - Research Article
Colhoun, S., Norris, P., Keddell, E., & Willing, E. (2024). Where does the Digital Age data come from? Proceedings of the 13th Health Services Research Association of Australia and New Zealand (HSRAANZ) Conference. 85. Retrieved from https://www.hsraanz.org/ Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Sopoaga, L., Nada-Raja, S., Colhoun, S., Leckie, T., & Sopoaga, F. (2024). First-year Pacific students' perception of their well-being journey at university in Aotearoa New Zealand. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 12(11), 756-779. doi: 10.4236/jss.2024.1211051 Journal - Research Article
Keddell, E., Colhoun, S., Norris, P., Willing, E., & Cormack, D. (2024). Where do big data come from? The social production of child protection ‘reports of concern’. Proceedings of the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference: The Sociology to Come. Retrieved from https://www.saanz.net/saanz2024/ Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Colhoun, S., Norris, P., Keddell, E., Willing, E., & Cormack, D. (2024, March). interRAI assessments as a data source: Contextual findings. Verbal presentation at the 4th interRAI Knowledge Exchange, Wellington, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs