Dr Rachel Cole has a background in health promotion, epidemiology and exercise physiology. Before joining UniSC, Dr Cole held various public health positions in the public sector for nearly 15 years. Her roles have included health promotion, state and regional strategic planning, epidemiology, and research and evaluation.
Dr Cole completed her PhD (Public Health in behavioural epidemiology, Cancer Prevention Research Centre, The University of Queensland with Prof Neville Owen) in 2008, while working as a health promotion practitioner. Her main areas of work have been in chronic disease prevention specifically related to physical activity health promotion and behavioural epidemiology. Dr Cole is a member of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health, the Council for Physical Activity and the Environment, and the Australian Association of Health Promotion. Her current research interests include examination of policy and neighbourhood environment attributes conducive to active healthy lifestyles, the health consequences of active transport and sedentary behaviours, and teaching epidemiology and health promotion.
Research areas
- health promotion
- behavioural and social epidemiology
- physical activity and sedentary behaviour
- built and social environments
- public health policy
Teaching areas
- Health Promotion Needs Assessment and Planning
- Health Promotion Settings
- Health Promotion Independent Project
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Public Health Foundations
Dr Rachel Cole's specialist areas of knowledge include public health, health promotion, behavioural and social epidemiology, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, built and social environments, public health policy