Dr Donna Cross
Internationally recognised in school health promotion intervention, Dr Donna Cross is currently Professor, School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia; Director, Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Faculty of Computing Health and Science, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia and Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, WA Centre for Health Promotion Research, Curtin University of Technology.
Since 1989 Dr Cross has undertaken extensive school-based research to address school health related issues including drug use (smoking cessation, marijuana use) mental health (youth bullying, body image, depression and suicide); injury control (youth pedestrian injury, seniors pedestrian injury, general road safety and bicycle safety); and nutrition education.
While much of this research has been conducted in Australia she has also been involved in youth-based research throughout the USA as well as South Africa, Canada, Eastern Europe, Japan and Israel, with organisations including WHO, UNICEF and the American Health Foundation.
Dr Cross has published 39 peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature and six candidates have completed doctoral studies under her supervision.The public health outcomes of Donna's research have influenced the health promotion practice of teachers, schools and parents through WA. These outcomes include the state-wide dissemination school-based health interventions related to drug use prevention, tobacco use cessation, bullying prevention, HIV prevention, road safety education, and child abuse prevention.
Dr Cross is an author of all of the currently used drug education (and other health education) curriculum targeting adolescents in Western Australian (and some other Australian states). She has close contact with all WA government and non-government school sectors and systems in Australia.
