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Walking and cycling for transport is good for physical activity levels in Kiwis!
… activity are associated with reduced rates of breast and colon cancer, better mental health, lower obesity rates, … we just published that found that New Zealanders who walk or cycle to their main activity each day have a 76% higher … really be considered a bare minimum for health (see Figure 1). In addition, an alarming 1 in 6 of us do less than 30 …
Briefing
Water infrastructure failures from Cyclone Gabrielle show low resilience to climate change
… through homes, trapped people on roofs, ruined farmland and closed roads. Here we assess the reported damage to water … damage in its wake. It caused an estimated 1720 injuries, 1 11 deaths, 2 with an economic cost estimated to be up to … that could be attributed specifically to damage to water or sewerage infrastructure – this is a topic that is worthy …
Briefing
NZ Health Strategy Consultation Draft – are the big prevention programmes really in there?
… a ‘people centred’ approach it gravitates to IT systems and individual-level actions, and drifts away from … draft Strategy has traversed its five organising themes (1. People powered, 2. Closer to home, 3. Value and high … these items are issues of Politics (with a capital ‘P’). Or it could be that the – generally sensible – five …
Briefing
Why NZ should consider adopting “mass masking” as an additional step to speed elimination of the Covid-19 pandemic
… Covid-19 pandemic. There is some suggestive laboratory and epidemiological evidence of benefit for such mask use. … be used to reduce the spread of respiratory infections [1]. In health care settings masks are used widely for … the current 2m distancing guidelines [5]. Perhaps a half or more of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 never develop any …
Briefing
Public Health Solutions Series: Stemming the tide of cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand
… : action on tobacco products; reducing infectious diseases and focusing on system level solutions . The blog is part … issue of the medical journal The Lancet , a colleague and I had the opportunity to co-author a commentary on the … for Māori, killing more Māori each year than the next five or six cancers combined . We must continue to pass and …
Briefing
Highly variable cost-effectiveness with disease characteristics and age: Herceptin as a Case Study
… This blog is, and isn’t, about the breast cancer drug Herceptin. It is … the journal PLoS Medicine about the health gains, costs, and cost-effectiveness of Herceptin. It isn’t about Herceptin … where the cancer has spread regionally (to nearby tissue or lymph nodes as opposed to distant organs like the liver), …
Briefing
The COVID-19 house fire and the unbearable silence of fire alarms
… be a signal to all countries that significant actions, aid and cooperation may all be needed. Critics have lambasted the … argument for convening the Emergency Committee as early as 1 January 2020 and declaring a PHEIC immediately. We argue … smoke (think snippets of information appearing on ProMed, or WeChat, or sidebar news stories) is not enough to compel …
Briefing
Where do the parties stand? – Introducing our election series
… make choices that impact the long-term health and wellbeing of every New Zealander. These decisions are not … one of the most fundamental concerns for New Zealanders. 1 Our own physical and mental health, but also the health and … The core role of government should not be increasing GDP or reducing hospital waiting lists. It should be ensuring the …
Briefing
Perspective: Options for licensed retailing of nicotine-containing E-Cigarettes in NZ
… this Perspective Blog briefly examines possible pros and cons of two plausible licensed retail options: pharmacies … Māori Affairs Select Committee – and not yet acted upon (1)). Current regulations allow any retailer who wishes (eg, … from various overseas jurisdictions shows that registered or licensed businesses are more likely to comply with tobacco …
Briefing
Unaffordable home heating increases risk of severe mental distress
… impacts. If we don’t put in place further economic support and policies to protect vulnerable energy consumers so that … is a significant public health issue in many countries. 1-3 Cold housing and energy poverty (also known as energy … that being in energy poverty lowers subjective wellbeing or life satisfaction. 7 Another UK study also found a link …
Briefing

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