663 Results

  • Seven decades of severe weather events in Aotearoa New Zealand: What are the human health impacts?

    … of severe weather could increase with climate change – but fortunately there are a range of preventive measures available that could lower the … [1, 2]. Globally, extreme weather events are expected to increase, and sea levels will continue to rise due to …
    Briefing

  • Smart party pill law makes tobacco & alcohol regulation look pathetic

    … stringent government-promulgated rules and processes. All but one MP voted for the new law. The irony is that tobacco – … ticket regulatory treatment. The promise is that if such a wide parliamentary consensus can be achieved on party … – sales now subject of stringent regulation – in contrast to tobacco and alcohol The Psychoactive Substances Act, which …
    Briefing

  • The Government’s transport plans work against our health

    … outlined in the draft GPS 2024 are, as a package, likely to worsen the already high levels of illness, disability, and … costs to society. The lack of plausible policy to reduce transport greenhouse gas emissions will further … activity elsewhere). 20 Thus, active transport is the most important opportunity available to New Zealanders to increase …
    Briefing

  • Antiviral stockpiles for pandemic preparedness: Time for a careful rethink?

    … NZ has a 32 million dollar stockpile of antiviral drugs. But given recent evidence from a new Cochrane systematic … suggests options for a review process.New Zealand seems to have done a fairly good job of influenza pandemic planning … cost-effectiveness estimates compare with other ways to reduce spread of an influenza pandemic (eg, mass media …
    Briefing

  • The growing burden of dementia in Aotearoa: Scope for prevention

    … the number of people living with dementia is expected to double in the next 20 years – a major health and economic … use, and untreated depression. Secondly, factors that reduce cognitive reserve, the brain’s ability to tolerate … Māori and Pacific peoples are not due to ethnicity per se but their overrepresentation in areas of high social …
    Briefing

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

    … globally and in NZ. We focus on potential revisions to NZ’s Alert Level system that involve improved use of mass … event size limits could allow larger gatherings outdoors but maintain tighter restrictions on indoor gatherings, … of mass masking as a low-cost, effective intervention to reduce COVID-19 transmission [4, 5]. Table: Our …
    Briefing

  • Severe domestic squalor in Aotearoa New Zealand: A preliminary survey

    … and having a budget for cleaning homes as the most important suggestions for helping these people in their area. … and unhygienic that most people would consider the house to be unsuitable for human occupation. 1  An extreme example … the floors, and the stench emanating is unbearable to all but the occupant, who is blissfully unconcerned by the …
    Briefing

  • Engaging online simulator of measles outbreaks (& how NZ needs to do better in eliminating measles)

    … To help explain the concept of ‘herd immunity’, The Guardian … coverage levels of 95% to achieve herd immunity (1). But for other less infectious diseases, like polio and mumps, … from conditions like measles hospitalisations. It is also important to remember that the vaccines in the childhood …
    Briefing

  • The Brits are doing it: likely health benefits from a levy on soft drinks

    … the UK soft drink levy being introduced in 2017 is likely to benefit health (reduced obesity, diabetes and dental … as Diet Coke. Varying levels of sugary Coca Cola drinks But here’s the thing.  It is up to the Drinks Industry how … lower-sugar products) Reformulate their products to reduce sugar levels to get them down to a lower levy category …
    Briefing

  • The long shadow of war on the health of military personnel

    … participating in war – and suggests that such issues need to be considered carefully by governments before … “non-combat” group who departed on troopships in late 1918 but for whom the war ended before they got to the frontlines. … Collectively such approaches would potentially both reduce long-term health burdens for veterans – and the …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)