Dr Amy Peden
Bachelor of Arts (Government and International Relations, Social Policy), Master of Public Policy, PhD (Health)
As an injury prevention researcher and advocate, I specialise in adolescent injury and specifically drowning prevention - epidemiology, risk factor identification and evaluation of drowning prevention interventions.
I am an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Research Fellow with the School of Population Health and convene PHCM9792 - Injury Epidemiology, Prevention and Control. I have a specific interest on regional communities, alcohol, and social determinants of health. I regularly appear in the media and hold adjunct appointments with Royal Life Saving Society - Australia, James Cook University, the George Institute for Global Health and the Health and Psychology Innovations (HaPI) lab at Griffith University. I am a co-founder of the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group and am interested in supervising Masters, PhD and ILP students on injury prevention and drowning prevention topics.
Research Interests: Public Health, Injury Prevention, Drowning Prevention, Epidemiology
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
- Peden AE, Smith S, Hamilton K. ‘When roads become rivers’ Request for Quotation: Local Social Research and Community Engagement Advice. Newcastle State Emergency Service (SES), 2021, $22,311.12
- Thom O, Roberts K, Franklin RC, Leggat PA, Devine S, Peden AE ‘Emergency Department Treatment of the Drowning Victim’. Wishlist Foundation Sunshine Coast Health Foundation, 2020, $36,000
- Thom O, Roberts K, Franklin RC, Leggat PA, Devine S, Peden AE ‘Emergency Department Treatment of the Drowning Victim’, Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF), 2020, $91,468.00
- Peden AE ‘Exploring water safety and drowning prevention beliefs and practices among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members: A qualitative study’, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, 2020, $10,890.00
- Peden AE, Franklin RC ‘Breathalysing and surveying inland waterway users: Developing and testing an ongoing program’, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, 2020, $19,800
- Safety Young Investigator Award - 2020
- Council of Academic Public Health Institutions in Australia (CAPHIA) Award for PhD Excellence in Public Health - 2020
- Dean’s Award for Higher Degree by Research Excellence (awarded for PhD research, James Cook University) - 2020
- Sax Institute Research Action Award Winner - 2019
- International Drowning Researcher’s Alliance (IDRA) Young Researcher of the Year - 2019
- Gold – International Safety Media Awards – Individual Print Category (River drowning prevention research and Respect the River) - 2018
- Finalist – International Safety Media Awards – Campaign Category (Don’t Let Your Mates Drink and Drown) - 2018
- Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth Diploma - 2018
- James Cook University Higher Degree Research Symposium (College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences) – Best Overall Presentation - 2017
- Australasian Injury Prevention Network (AIPN) – Achievement in Practice in Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion – 2017
- Australasian Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference – Best Rapid Oral Presentation (Shortlisted) – 2017
- Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) Spark of Life Conference: Best Poster Aquatic Safety - 2017
- International Life Saving Federation (ILS) Citation of Merit – 2011
Commentaries
The Lancet Public Health 'Closing the gap for drowning prevention across Europe' https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00193-1/fulltext
Sydney Morning Herald ‘How to Get Sydneysiders to wear masks” https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-to-get-sydneysiders-to-wear-masks-20201228-p56qjm.html
MJA Insight 'Condoms, lifejackets and face masks: examining factors that impact compliance and what we have learned to improve adoption', Insight+ (Medical Journal of Australia) https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2020/48/condoms-life-jackets-and-face-masks-compliance-and-adoption/
The Conversation
The 8 deadly days of Christmas https://theconversation.com/the-8-deadly-days-of-christmas-how-to-stay-safe-from-drowning-in-australia-this-summer-167440
When is the right time for children to learn to swim? https://theconversation.com/when-is-the-right-time-for-children-to-learn-to-swim-173144
When roads become rivers: forming a Plan B can stop people driving into floodwaters https://theconversation.com/when-roads-become-rivers-forming-a-plan-b-can-stop-people-driving-into-floodwaters-183036
Blog Posts
Peden AE (2021) Drowning among adolescents on the rise in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne Centre for Adolescent Health https://blogs.rch.org.au/cah/2021/09/17/3978/
Peden AE, Franklin RC (2021) Global Drowning Prevention Day 2021: The start of a new era? Injury Prevention, https://blogs.bmj.com/injury-prevention/2021/07/22/global-drowning-prevention-day-2021-the-start-of-a-new-era/
Hamilton E, Peden AE, Franklin RC (2020) You’ll be surprised to know what we still don’t know about drowning. Injury Prevention, https://blogs.bmj.com/injury-prevention/2020/10/02/youll-be-surprised-to-know-what-we-still-dont-know-about-drowning/
Ma T, Peden AE (2020) Where is injury prevention in the Sustainable Development Goals? Injury Prevention, https://blogs.bmj.com/injury-prevention/2020/09/16/where-is-injury-prevention-in-the-sustainable-development-goals/
Letters to the Editor
Queiroga AC, Franklin RC, Marques O, Nascimento S, Peden AE (2022). Integrated Registry for Drowning and Aquatic Injuries in Portugal. Acta Med Port. 35(4): 303-312. https://actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/17973/6590
Media
The World Today - ABC Radio - https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/road-crashes-the-biggest-global-killer-of-young-people/13955018
Life Matters - ABC Radio - https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/what-is-the-best-age-for-children-to-learn-to-swim/13720902
ABC Radio - https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/programs/drive/learning-to-swim/13719280
Science Daily - https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629202950.htm
Sydney Morning Herald - Experts Push for 30km/hr speed limit as traffic incidents lead youth deaths https://www.smh.com.au/national/experts-push-for-30km-h-limit-as-traffic-incidents-lead-youth-deaths-20220627-p5ax05.html
2GB - https://www.2gb.com/podcast/what-is-the-recommended-age-to-teach-your-child-to-swim/
My Research Supervision
PhD
- William Koon - 'Characterization and analysis of human factors and environmental physical hazards as determinants of ocean rescue, surf-related trauma, and drowning events at surf beaches'
- Nicholas Mulcahy - 'Analysing environmental and social risk factors to inform the prevention of drowning and injury in New Zealand'
- Samuel Cornell - 'Investigating risky behaviour to improve water safety and drowning prevention at aquatic Instagram hotspots'
My Teaching
Convening PHCM9792 - Injury Epidemiology, Prevention and Control' (T1)