721 Results

  • Cycling and walking in six NZ cities: Where are we at?

    …   Figure 1 On-road cycle lane Wellington. Photo credit: Jenny Ombler Active transport is important for health and sustainability. But no one has previously looked … in NZ. The number of city council staff working on cycling or walking issues ranges from 1.5 FTE/100,000 people …
    Briefing

  • Improving NZ Government communication about COVID-19: Five suggestions

    … NZ has done very well with its COVID-19 pandemic response and it is typically ranked in the top few performing countries. 1 2 NZ’s economic indicators, such as GDP impacts, also … have been involved in joint “War Cabinets” or similar bodies during World War Two in NZ, Australia and …
    Briefing

  • “Nudging” to improve QR scanning and mask wearing to protect us all during a pandemic

    … COVID-19 elimination strategy is the rapid identification and then management of any COVID-19 cases arising from border … in settings where scanning will likely remain voluntary. 1 Furthermore, although mask-wearing on public transport is … protect themselves and others by doing the “right thing”, or that provides new information about why these behaviours …
    Briefing

  • When the first barrier fails: Strengthening protection for drinking water sources

    … water is a foundation of public health. The first, and most significant, barrier against drinking water … barrier against drinking water contamination and illness”. 1  The case of the Waimate breach exposes weaknesses in … the risk of colorectal cancer and exposure to nitrites and/or nitrates, whether they are ingested via the consumption of …
    Briefing

  • Protecting Whānau Ora: Why long-term relationships matter for child health

    … relationship-based approach which improves social and health outcomes for some of our most vulnerable … agencies lost their contracts for Whānau Ora, 1 one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s (NZ) most effective … trigger more equitable outcomes for young people or their carers, and trusting relationships are central in …
    Briefing

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

    … A year ago Cyclone Gabrielle struck Aotearoa New Zealand and it became the most costly weather-related disaster in the … regions of the North Island. The cyclone killed 11 people, 1 displaced more than 10,500 , and caused a range of acute … followed by stress (24%), and feeling depressed, low, or down (16%).” As a result, an “overall mental wellbeing …
    Briefing

  • We need rapid progress on digital solutions to help eliminate COVID-19 from New Zealand

    … with contact tracing, border controls, early diagnosis and surveillance. These technologies present major benefits … for digital solutions to help tackle this global threat (1). Currently, NZ is considering several digital solutions to … enabled the identification of close contacts unknown to, or not recalled by, the case. They have also automated …
    Briefing

  • What the Pacific & Mexico can tell us about soft drink taxes and public health

    … taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) can be designed and implemented. These aspects can affect the likely impact … over and above the tax on other food and beverages (Figure 1). In April 2014 the Cook Islands adopted a NZ$9.80 tax per … of a clear health goal, using excise tax, taxing on volume or sugar content, taxing a broad range of SSBs, introducing …
    Briefing

  • Prevention and treatment of mental disorders will help reduce dementia

    … mental health disorders, particularly depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, significantly increase dementia risk, … to double from 83,000 in 2025 to 167,000 by the year 2050. 1   In the absence of a cure, there is a need to focus on … to tolerate damage: low education, uncorrected hearing or vision loss, and social isolation. While depression is the …
    Briefing

  • Might a ‘Coasean’ social contract mitigate overall societal harm from COVID-19?

    … need to protect older people from high death rates and the desirability of maximising freedom from lock-downs … with the option of opt out either with no payment or an insurance surcharge reflecting risk until either a … bargain between the two could in principle be struck [1]. Reflecting different individual preferences there could …
    Briefing

Subscribe

Briefing CTA

Public Health Expert Briefing

Get the latest insights from the public health research community delivered straight to your inbox for free. Subscribe to stay up to date with the latest research, analysis and commentary from the Public Health Expert Briefing.

PHCC logo PHCC

The PHCC is funded by a philanthropic endowment from the Gama Foundation and hosted by the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington.

Contact

Email phcc@phcc.org.nz
43 Hanson Street, Mt Cook, 
Wellington | Te Whanganui-a-Tara
PO Box 7343, Wellington South 6242
New Zealand | Aotearoa

 

Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)