Nationality New Zealander Name Philippa Howden-Chapman | Children 3 Spouse Ralph Chapman | |
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Institutions University of Otago, Wellington Known for Research into housing insulation and heating in New Zealand Notable awards Public Health Champion 2006
Joan Metge medal
Liley medal
Prime Minister's Science Prize Books The Impact of Economic Recession on Youth Suicide: A Comparison of New Zealand and Finland Fields Public health, Public housing Institution University of Otago, Wellington | ||
Alma mater University of Auckland | ||
Philippa Lynne Howden-Chapman QSO is Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago, and director of the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities.
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Career
Howden-Chapman started her career in secondary-school teaching, before moving to clinical psychology, and ending up in public health.
She has conducted a number of high-profile randomized control trials into various aspects of housing and health, in the process helping to build the evidence base for the later New Zealand-wide insulation programme. Howden-Chapman's Healthy Housing group conducted an analysis of the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme which showed that overall it "will have a net benefit of $951 million dollars, and a highly favourable benefit cost ratio of 3.9:1."
Howden-Chapman was a member of the 2012 Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty, which outlined a number of policy recommendations to tackle child poverty in New Zealand.
In November 2013, Howden-Chapman was made a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
In December 2014, Howden-Chapman and her research programme were awarded the $500,000 Prime Minister's Science Prize. She was the first woman and the first social scientist to win the prize.