The Briefing

An Inquiry into the the world’s largest recorded campylobacteriosis outbreak in Havelock North in 2016, led to policy changes to strengthen protections for our water supply system. These policies are now under threat leaving us vulnerable to similar type events.

Statistics NZ has signalled a move away from five-yearly population censuses to the use of administrative data instead. This Briefing cautions any changes to the census must be carefully planned and reviewed so they don't undermine or limit our crucial statistical infrastructure.

The controversial Fast-Track Approvals Bill circumvents legal protections for the environment and threatens public health.

Access to clean drinking water is one of the most fundamental components of good public health. Leaking water infrastructure poses a threat to this basic necessity and is costing the country upwards of $122 million a year.

At the Public Health Congress in Auckland last week, one of us presented on potential public health endgames – partly to inform thinking around the tobacco endgame in New Zealand (the Smokefree Nation Goal for 2025). This blog considers what additional endgames this country could be bolder about tackling.

A recently published review has quantified the estimated benefits and harms of taking regular aspirin for disease prevention. This blog briefly looks at the issues and considers possible responses by NZ health agencies and research funders.

A paper in the NZ Medical Journal shows that New Zealand has higher death rates from cancer than Australia that cannot be explained by higher incidence for most sites. This blog we canvass how bad (or good) the situation really is, the problems and possible sources of error comparing survival across the ditch (it is not easy to do), and we conclude with policy implications.

This is Part 2 of a two-part blog by Dr Caroline Shaw and Associate Professor Diana Sarfati on breast cancer screening. In Part 1 they looked at the contested research around breast cancer screening. In today’s Part 2 they explore the implications for New Zealand.

This week Dr Caroline Shaw and Associate Professor Diana Sarfati consider the pros and cons of breast cancer screening, in light of the growing controversy (mostly in the northern hemisphere) about the possibility that the benefits of breast cancer screening are (much) less than previously thought due to over-detection and other issues.

​ In a just published study we found that the NZ Government’s investment in HPV vaccination for girls is clearly a “good value-for-money” way to protect health – even at the modest 47% coverage. In this blog we discuss these findings and how the country could catch-up to the much higher HPV vaccination coverage levels seen in Australia and the UK. ​