A child arriving in hospital with severe dental disease represents the end of a pathway that may have begun years earlier. This project asks: are the communities with the greatest need for childhood oral health prevention also those with the poorest access to the resources that protect oral health?
The student will combine population-level data with geospatial information on community water fluoridation, socioeconomic conditions, rurality and access to preventive oral-health services. Using GIS and spatial data-science methods, they will identify communities where multiple disadvantages overlap and develop a national map of childhood oral-health “prevention gaps.”
The project offers a student hands-on experience across public health, GIS, oral health and health equity, while allowing them to complete the entire research cycle within ten weeks. They will develop practical skills in spatial analysis, data visualisation and translating research into evidence relevant to healthservice planning and prevention.
The work directly complements an existing $1.2 million HRC Project Grant led by Associate Professor Matthew Hobbs on the health impacts of community water fluoridation and will generate pilot data, publication-quality outputs and reusable geospatial infrastructure for a wider programme investigating how environments and healthcare access shape trajectories into avoidable healthcare demand
Supervisors
Primary Supervisor: Matt Hobbs
Other Supervisor(s): Tim Chambers, Deanna Beckett (University of Otago)
Application and funding
This is a UC Commitments Summer Scholarship research project. Emailed applications will not be considered. Find out more here: University of Canterbury Scholarship Portal - UC Commitments Summer Scholarship
Final date for receiving applications
25 September 2026
