Nicola Spurrier

Australian paediatrician and public health administrator

David Spurrier
​
(m. 1990)​
ChildrenThreeAwardsPublic Service Medal June 2021Chief Public Health Officer for South Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 2019Preceded byPaddy Phillips PSM

Nicola Jane Spurrier PSM (born 9 December 1966) is an Australian paediatrician and public health physician who has been the Chief Public Health Officer of South Australia since August 2019.

Education

Spurrier graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Adelaide in 1990.[1] She has a Graduate Diploma in Epidemiology from the University of Newcastle (1997) and completed a PhD from Adelaide University in 1999, with a thesis titled Parental management of children's asthma:the role of psychosocial factors.[1]

Career

Spurrier worked at the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide from 1993 until 1999, before becoming a lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health at Flinders University and consultant paediatrician at Flinders Medical Centre.[1][2][3] In 2011, the university awarded her the status of associate professor and in April 2020, professor.[3][2] She is qualified as a specialist in both public health and paediatrics.[2]

Spurrier has worked for SA Health for nearly thirty years,[3] developing and implementing programs and policies focused on child health, obesity prevention and Aboriginal health.[4][5] She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine.[1]

Spurrier became Chief Public Health Officer for South Australia in August 2019. Four months later, she was involved in the state's response to bushfires.[6] From March 2020, Spurrier led South Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,[4] giving daily press conferences alongside Premier Steven Marshall in which she was called "calm, honest and direct".[5] She became popular with the public and had a cocktail named after her at Adelaide bar 2KW.[7] Despite her "cult following", she ruled out a move into politics.[8][9]

Awards and recognition

Spurrier was one of four nominees for 2021 South Australian of the Year.[4] She was awarded a Public Service Medal in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for outstanding public service to community health in South Australia.[10]

In September 2022, a newly discovered species of bacteria was named Nicolia spurrieriana in recognition of Spurrier's work during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Personal life

Spurrier has been married to David Spurrier, a physiotherapist, for thirty years and they have a daughter and two sons.[6][8] Her mother, sister, and brother in law are all also doctors.[12]

Selected publications

Book

  • Kirke, Kerry; Spurrier, Nicola; Bray, Martin (2009). Screening For Good Health: The Australian Guide To Health Screening And Immunisation. Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 9780522859331.

Articles

  • Nicola J Spurrier; Michael G Sawyer; Jennifer J Clark; Peter Baghurst (1 January 2003). "Socio-economic differentials in the health-related quality of life of Australian children: results of a national study". Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 27 (1): 27–33. doi:10.1111/J.1467-842X.2003.TB00376.X. ISSN 1326-0200. PMID 14705264. Wikidata Q53359918.
  • Nicola J Spurrier; Michael G Sawyer; David L Streiner; A James Martin; Declan Kennedy (1 September 2005). "New measure of parental asthma management for school-age children". Pediatric Pulmonology. 40 (3): 241–250. doi:10.1002/PPUL.20261. ISSN 8755-6863. PMID 16013068. Wikidata Q53618590.
  • Nicola J Spurrier; Anthea M Magarey; Catherine Wong (1 July 2006). "Recognition and management of childhood overweight and obesity by clinicians". Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 42 (7–8): 411–418. doi:10.1111/J.1440-1754.2006.00890.X. ISSN 1034-4810. PMID 16898877. Wikidata Q53591063.
  • Nicola J Spurrier; Anthea M Magarey; Rebecca Golley; Fiona Curnow; Michael G Sawyer (30 May 2008). "Relationships between the home environment and physical activity and dietary patterns of preschool children: a cross-sectional study". International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 5: 31. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-5-31. ISSN 1479-5868. PMC 2432071. PMID 18513416. Wikidata Q36728811.
  • Nicola J Spurrier; Robert E Volkmer; Christina Abi Abdallah; Alwin Chong (1 June 2012). "South Australian four-year-old Aboriginal children: residence and socioeconomic status influence weight". Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 36 (3): 285–290. doi:10.1111/J.1753-6405.2012.00872.X. ISSN 1326-0200. PMID 22672037. Wikidata Q40039558.
  • Allison Larg; John R Moss; Nicola Spurrier (22 February 2018). "Relative contribution of overweight and obesity to rising public hospital in-patient expenditure in South Australia". Australian Health Review. doi:10.1071/AH17147. ISSN 0156-5788. PMID 29467071. Wikidata Q51368355.
  • Patrick C K Tam; Kathleen M Ly; Max L Kernich; Nicola Spurrier; Diana Lawrence; David L Gordon; Emily C Tucker (30 May 2020). "Detectable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human breast milk of a mildly symptomatic patient with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)". Clinical Infectious Diseases. doi:10.1093/CID/CIAA673. ISSN 1058-4838. PMC 7314245. PMID 32472683. Wikidata Q96025027.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Nicola Spurrier" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c "Professor Nicola Spurrier". Flinders University.
  3. ^ a b c Farhart, Claudia (19 April 2020). "Who are the experts behind Australia's coronavirus response?". SBS News. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Spurrier nominated for SA Australian of the Year". InDaily. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Meet South Australia's 16 nominees for the 2021 Australian of the Year Awards". Port Pirie Recorder. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. ^ a b Debelle, Penelope (29 May 2020). "SA Weekend inside story: How Nicola Spurrier became the face of South Australia's resistance to the COVID-19 crisis". The Advertiser. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. ^ Penberthy, David (24 September 2020). "SA tastes freedom under Marshall law". The Australian. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  8. ^ Richardson, Tom (1 March 2021). "Minister pondering new environment as Boothby contenders circle". InDaily. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  9. ^ Swanell, Cate (14 June 2021). "Queen's Birthday honorees". Medical Journal of Australia. 214 (111). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Researchers spurred by COVID strategy name new bug after chief health officer Nicola Spurrier". ABC News. 13 September 2022.
  11. ^ "The family that gives back". Flinders University. 2020.

External links

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