Rhys Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a public health physician and Senior Lecturer in Māori Health at the University of Auckland. His research addresses Indigenous health and health equity with a particular focus on environmental influences on Māori health and wellbeing. He is currently undertaking doctoral research examining climate change mitigation policy and its impacts on Māori health and health equity.

Rhys is a passionate advocate for action on the social determinants of health, equity and Indigenous rights. Rhys was a founding Co-Convenor of OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate and Health Council, a health professional organisation focusing on the health challenges of climate change and the health opportunities of climate action.

Expertise

• Māori and Indigenous health
• Climate change and health

 Email: rg.jones@auckland.ac.nz

Relevant publications and conference presentations:

1. Jones, R., Macmillan, A., & Reid, P. (2020). Climate Change Mitigation Policies and Co-Impacts on Indigenous Health: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23). doi:10.3390/ijerph17239063
2. Jones, R., Kidd, B., Wild, K., & Woodward, A. (2020). Cycling amongst Māori: Patterns, influences and opportunities. New Zealand Geographer, 76(3), 182-193. doi:10.1111/nzg.12280
3. Lewis, D., Williams, L., & Jones, R. (2020). A radical revision of the public health response to environmental crisis in a warming world: contributions of Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous feminist perspectives. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 111(6), 897-900. doi:10.17269/s41997-020-00388-1
4. Bennett, H., Macmillan, A., Jones, R. G., Blaiklock, A., & McMillan, J. (2020). Should health professionals participate in civil disobedience in response to the climate change health emergency? Lancet, 395(10220), 304-308. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32985-X
5. Jones, R. (2019). Climate change and Indigenous Health Promotion. Global Health Promotion, 26(3_suppl), 73-81. doi:10.1177/1757975919829713
6. Jones, R. G., Bennett, H., Keating, G., & Blaiklock, A. (2014). Climate Change and the Right to Health for Māori in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Health and Human Rights, 16(1), 54-68.
7. Bennett, H., Jones, R., Keating, G., Woodward, A., Hales, S., & Metcalfe, S. (2014). Health and equity impacts of climate change in Aotearoa-New Zealand, and health gains from climate action. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 127(1406), 16-31.
8. Jones, R. G. (2013). Climate change and Māori health. In S. Katene, & M. Mulholland (Eds.), Future challenges for Māori: He kōrero anamata (pp. 75-86). Wellington, New Zealand: Huia Publishers.