635 Results

  • Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk – important measures to help guide the pandemic response

    … two useful mortality indicators: Case-Fatality Risk (CFR) and Infection-Fatality Risk (IFR). We estimate the cumulative … risk (CFR; also incorrectly referred to as a rate or ratio) and infection-fatality risk (IFR). The Covid-19 CFR … based on the reported deaths and reported cases. Figure 1 shows the CFR in NZ by age group up to 4 May 2022 and …
    Briefing

  • Mounting complexities in the dietary salt & health relationship

    … A large prospective study on dietary salt and health has recently been reported in the New England … was also found for low intakes of salt (i.e., a “J-shaped” or “U-shaped” relationship). This blog post considers this … to health (as outlined in two recent systematic reviews (1, 2)) has been described as strong enough to justify public …
    Briefing

  • The Smokefree Generation: Perspectives from young people

    … Aotearoa New Zealand’s Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill … the introduction of a smokefree generation policy (SFG). 1 Implementing an SFG disallows the sale of smoked tobacco products to anyone born on or after a specified date, which is proposed as 01 January …
    Briefing

  • Likely rise in invasive strep infections in NZ requires a strategy

    … A streptococcus (GAS) is a common cause of sore throats and skin infections in children. In rare cases the bacteria … person-to-person through direct contact with nose, throat or wound secretions or respiratory droplets. While some … GAS disease with an associated 500,000 deaths annually. 1 2 The focus of this article is on invasive GAS disease …
    Briefing

  • Upgrade of NZ’s COVID-19 Alert Levels Needed to Help Regain NZ’s Elimination Status

    … blog we comment on the current COVID-19 situation globally and in NZ. We focus on potential revisions to NZ’s Alert … successfully work to regain its former elimination status [1], while waiting for a vaccine or therapeutics to become available. A key goal is for NZ to …
    Briefing

  • Ventilation in NZ schools during the Omicron wave – results from a preliminary study

    … Ventilation is a key and relatively underutilised public health measure that can … outbreaks with cases in children increasing exponentially, 1 2 leading to large numbers of child hospitalisations, … existing national agency such as the Ministry of Health (or the proposed Public Health Agency), or WorkSafe NZ. Such …
    Briefing

  • Optimising the effects of plain packaging for tobacco – making Quitline information more salient

    … that enhance smokers’ access to cessation support, and affirm their decision to try and quit, could increase the … the new NZ Parliament passes legislation bringing plain, or standardised, tobacco packaging into effect, policy makers … plain packaging will realise all of these objectives(1-5). Furthermore, now plain packaging has been in place in …
    Briefing

  • Calculating cardiovascular risk with online calculators – scope for improvement?

    … could be improved upon. The clear answer being “yes” – and in many ways. There are many ways to prevent … as enhanced tobacco control (e.g., higher tobacco taxes (1)) and regulations to improve the quality of the food supply … could cover the following issues: Showing healthy or quality-adjusted years of life saved. The bottom line with …
    Briefing

  • The smokefree policies of political parties: Do they care about people who smoke?

    … at the policies of seven New Zealand political parties and found that they are largely ignoring the strategies that … who smoke regret starting smoking and most want to quit. 1 Being an ex-smoker decreases a huge range of respiratory, … seven parties whose policies we examined, we found little or no specific detail about deterring people from starting or …
    Briefing

  • Should smokefree indoor areas = vapefree areas?

    … the indoor public settings where vaping should be allowed or prohibited. We conclude that there seems an overall strong … for the indoor areas covered by current smokefree laws and policies. It is timely that the Ministry of Health is … bans already exist in many places within the USA (eg, (1)), with most overlapping with smokefree areas. Similarly, …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)