The University of Western Australia

Dr Terri Pikora

Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
School of Population Health

Contact details

Address

School of Population Health
The University of Western Australia (M707)
35 Stirling Highway
CRAWLEY WA 6009
Australia

Email

terri.pikora@uwa.edu.au

Qualifications

BHSc(Health Promotion) E.Cowan, MPH PhD W.Aust.

Biography

Research Associate Professor Terri Pikora is the leader for marine safety research within the School of Population Health. She stareted researching in the area of Marine Safety within the Injury Research Centre (IRC) at the School of Population Health at UWA in 2004. In this role she has conducted work related to recreational boaters that has resulted in a program unique within Australia and which is novel for injury prevention research. This research program became affiliated with the Centre for Health Services Research at UWA in 2007. Dr Pikora has worked at UWA since 1995 in various roles and has progressed from working as a research assistant to developing her own program of research in the area of Marine Safety. Her current interests and work has recently expanded into the broader area of injury research.

Key research

Marine Safety Research

Injury Epidemiology and Control

Publications

26 peer reviewed papers including
Buzzacott P, Rosenberg M, Pikora T. Western Australian recreational scuba diving fatalities, 1992 to 2005. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 2009; 33:212-14.
Buzzacott P, Pikora T, Rosenberg M. Post-training dive inactivity in Western Australia. Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. 2008; 38.
Miller JR, Pikora TJ. Alcohol consumption among recreational boaters: Factors for intervention. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 2008; 40:496-501.
Giles-Corti B, Knuiman M, Timperio A, Van Niel K, Pikora TJ, Bull FCL, Shilton T, Bulsara M. Evaluation of the implementation of a government community design policy aimed at increasing local walking: Design issues and baseline results from RESIDE. Preventive Medicine 2008; 46:46-54.
Wood L, Shannon T, Bulsara M, Pikora T, McCormack G, Giles-Corti B. The anatomy of the safe and social suburb: An exploratory study of urban form, social capital and residents’ perceptions of safety. Health and Place 2008; 14:15-31.
Williams HA, Pikora TJ. A method of measuring recreational boating exposure. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 2007; 31:88.
Pikora T, Giles-Corti B, Knuiman M, Bull F, Jamrozik K, Donovan RJ. Neighborhood environmental factors correlated with walking near home: using SPACES. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2006;38:708-14.
Gomm M, Lincoln P, Pikora T, Giles-Corti B. Planning and implementing a community-based public health advocacy campaign: a transport case study. Health Promotion International 2006; 21:284-92.
Pikora T, Giles-Corti B, Bull F, Jamrozik K, Donovan RJ. Developing a framework for assessment of the environmental determinants of walking and cycling. Social Science and Medicine 2003;56:1693-703.
Pikora TJ, Bull FC, Jamrozik K, Knuiman M, Giles-Corti B, Donovan RJ. Developing a reliable instrument to measure the physical environment for physical activity. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2002;23:187-94.

Roles, responsibilities and expertise

Research Associate Professor
Senior Research Fellow in Marine Safety Research
Research into aspects of marine safety and injury epidemiology and control

Future research

Exploring issues related to injury control, with a focus on marine injury, within the community

Funding received

Nationally competitive grants (NHMRC, NHF, ARC)
Giles-Corti B, Shiell A, Geelhoed E, Begg S. An ecomonic evaluation of urban design as a means of promoting physical activity and health. NHMRC # 458768: 2007-2009, $363,875 (2007: $141,875; 2008: $113,500; 2009: $108,500). (T Pikora Associate Investigator).
Giles-Corti B, Van Niel K, Timperio A, Bulsara M, Pikora T. The impact of urban design on active transportation patterns in children. NHMRC #403933: 2006-2008, $355,000 (2006: $126,000; $119,000, $109,000).

State competitive grants (Healthway)
Pikora TJ, Braham R. Wet and wild: assessing injuries among recreational water users. Healthway, # 18015: 2009: $17317.
Giles-Corti B, Knuiman M, Delaney J, Bull F, Pikora T. Liveable neighbourhoods: do they increase physical activity? Healthway, #11828: 2003-2007: $574,000.
Rosenberg M, Timperio A, Lower A, Knuiman M, Pikora T. The long-term physical activity patterns of rural school leavers. Healthway # 2003-2005.
Wood LJ, Giles-Corti B, Pennebaker D, Pikora T, Knuiman M Social capital, sense of community and mental health: how do these relate to each other and the environments in which people live? Healthway. #10555: 2003 $50,000.
Giles-Corti B, Pikora T, Bull F, Bulsara M. What factors influence active-commuting in University staff and students? Healthway, #11851: 2003: $56,000.

Additional research funding
Pikora T, Braham R. Assessing Injuries Among Recreational Water Users, Department for Planning & Infrastructure, 2008 Funds Approved: $5,000.00.
Pikora T. Marine Safety Research Program 2006-09, Department for Planning & Infrastructure, 2007, Funds Approved: $472,844.00.

Industrial relevance

Relevant to a number of sectors including: marine safety, marine search and rescue, injury prevention

Languages

English

Memberships

Australian Health Promotion Association
Injury Control Council of Western Australia
Kidsafe Western Australia (Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia)
Public Health Association of Australia

Honours and awards

2008 Healthway Award in recognition of excellence in health promotion for the RESIDE project. Category: Research project grants targeting priority health issues or priority population groups: My role: Investigator 2003-2008
2006 School of Population Health, UWA. New investigator annual publication prize.
2006 Healthway Award Finalist. In recognition of excellence in health promotion for the Active Commuting Project. Category: research project grants targeting priority health issues or priority population groups. My role: investigator.
2002 Healthway Health Promotion Research Training Scholarship

Previous positions

Research Fellow (Research Manager for the RESIDE Project), School of Population Health UWA
Marine Safety Research Fellow, School of Population Health UWA
Research Associate, Centre for Mental Health Services Research Inc.
Project Officer (SEID2), Department of Public Health, UWA
Sponsorship Evaluation Officer (Healthway Annual Arts Sponsorship Program Evaluation; Evaluation of the Heathway Support Sponsorship Program; survey of organisations receiving Heathway sponsorship), Health Promotion Evaluation Unit, Department of Public Health, UWA
Research Assistant (Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Study), Department of Public Health/University Department of Surgery, UWA
Research Nurse/Research Assistant (Ambulatory Care Study), Department of Public Health, UWA/Arthur Anderson

Teaching

Tutor for Foundations of Clinical Practice, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, UWA (2005/07)
Associate Lecturer, School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology (2003)
Lecturer (sessional), Centre for Public Health, Edith Cowan University (2003)
Postgraduate and Undergraduate Tutor, School of Population Health, UWA (2000-03)

Current external positions

Board member Kidsafe Western Australia (Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia) 2008 –
Member Department of Health Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee 2008 –

Current projects

Wet and Wild: injury and safety behaviour among high-risk recreational water activities
Child injury prevention: assessing the effects of injury prevention strategies upon injury incidence
Marine Safety: developing methods of assessing injury and incidents among recreational water users

Research profile

Research profile and publications