600 Results

  • The Havelock North drinking water inquiry: A wake-up call to rebuild public health in New Zealand

    … costs were estimated at $21 million [ 2 ]. This appears to be the largest common source waterborne outbreak of its type … health determinants. A public health perspective needs to be present in discussions of issues as diverse as housing … not clear that the proposed drinking water regulator would be positioned to influence these upstream issues, such as …
    Briefing

  • Youth vaping addiction: How it happens and why it matters

    … it is likely that most of these teens are (or will soon be) experiencing nicotine addiction. 3 How does nicotine … 4 Evidence suggests that developing adolescent brains may be more susceptible to addiction than adult brains, and … effects on adolescents’ life trajectories and should be included in the definition of vaping harm.   What are the …
    Briefing

  • Continuing annual tobacco tax increases: New modelling of the likely impact

    … years of tax increases smoking prevalence in 2020 will be 21.4% for Māori and to 8.9% for non-Māori – compared to a … continued beyond January 2016. Prevalence reductions may be greater if we hit a ‘tipping point’ – our modelling … and the public that this programme would actually be extended beyond 2020 when this year is reached. Figure 1: …
    Briefing

  • The case for lowering salt levels in processed foods is now even stronger – new research

    … results for low sodium intake in these other studies may be largely due to inaccurate measurement of sodium intake. So … “that inaccurate measurement of sodium intake could be an important contributor to the paradoxical ‘J-shaped’ … J-shape association of sodium with all-cause mortality may be spurious – the study suggested a linear increase in …
    Briefing

  • The long shadow of Cyclone Gabrielle: Brief review at 12 months

    … and lack of closure for many people is likely to be having ongoing mental health impacts. A survey of Napier … much roading has been repaired, there are still likely to be disruptions during 2024. For example in Hawke’s Bay: … to begin this year.” 10 Some infrastructure might never be repaired given statements from the Prime Minister eg, the …
    Briefing

  • Reducing waiting times for cataract surgery is good value-for-money for falls prevention

    … We made some enhancements to the model so that it could be used to model the impact of cataract surgery. The … cataract surgery only to people age 65-70 was estimated to be the most cost-effective ($7000 per QALY gained). There was … time. To maximise the cost-effectiveness, priority could be given to expediting cataract surgery in the youngest of …
    Briefing

  • A Smokefree Aotearoa – could taking the nicotine out of smoked tobacco products help us get there?

    … of smoking in the 18-24-year-old age-group would be reduced by 75%.     Further details on the basis for these … Smokefree 2025 of under 5% smoking prevalence will be achieved for the overall population in all scenarios (e.g. … the findings of this high-level modelling should be treated as preliminary due to limitations of the model and …
    Briefing

  • Poor ventilation in public transport settings in Aotearoa NZ: New data for buses and trains

    … are available in the Appendix . **Lower range values can be compared to ambient CO 2 levels as detailed in the … on 2 June 2023]. Potentially, buses and trains could be required to monitor and display on screens continuous … buses and trains. Passenger density reduction There could be additional central/local government action to increase bus …
    Briefing

  • The Omicron waves – Comparing Aotearoa NZ and Australia in four key graphs

    … to the rest of NZ, and also Australia. This difference may be due to higher levels of deprivation in Auckland, with both … to Australia during the first Omicron waves. However, to be sure about this explanation, further investigation is … in both nations has reduced to minimal levels (it may even be extinct in NZ), with Omicron (and it’s sub-lineages of …
    Briefing

  • Public Health Solutions Series: Simple transport system changes could quickly relieve the crisis in our hospitals

    … air pollution ) and depression ( one in ten cases could be prevented by adequate levels of physical activity ). We … there are some changes to the transport system that could be implemented rapidly, if there was political will to do so. Here are three evidence-based interventions that can be implemented relatively quickly to reduce demand on health …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)