Richard Franklin

Richard Franklin is a Professor in Public Health and Director of the World Safety Organization Collaborating Centres for Injury Prevention and Disaster Health at James Cook University (JCU). He holds additional roles including Co-Convenor of the Injury Prevention SIG of the Public Health Association of Australia, Board Member of Farmsafe Australia, and President of Kidsafe Australia. His research focuses on injury prevention, drowning prevention, disaster resilience, and rural health, with over 250 publications and 17 awards.

Education

• PhD in Public Health (University of Sydney, 1990s)
• Master of Social Science (Health) (University of Sydney)
• Bachelor of Science (University of Queensland)

Research Interests
His work spans epidemiology, translational research, and program evaluation in injury prevention, particularly drowning, farm safety, and disaster health. He emphasizes data-driven solutions for rural populations, older adults, and migrant communities. Recent efforts include drowning prevention strategies for migrants, heatwave impacts on health, and improving cardiac rehabilitation in remote areas.

Awards

• ACTM Medal for Outstanding Service (2021)
• WSO J. Peter Cunliffe Transportation Award (2019)
• Gold Safety Media Award (2018) for 'Respect the River'

Advising & Grants
He supervises multiple PhD students exploring topics like falls prevention, tourist injury epidemiology, and climate-related disaster resilience. His grants focus on drowning prevention, heatwave health impacts, and rural health equity. Notably, he chairs the World Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion Conference and co-leads initiatives like the Townsville Water Safety Plan.

Labs & Teams
Leads the WSO Collaborating Centres and collaborates with organizations like Royal Life Saving Society Australia, Auschem Training, and the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine. He contributes to editorial boards of journals like International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education and Journal of Agromedicine.