» Home > 2022 >

Monthly Archives: April 2022

Sustained Resilience: the impact of nuclear war on New Zealand and how to mitigate catastrophe

Wednesday, April 13th, 2022 | carra86p | 2 Comments

Dr Matt Boyd & Prof Nick Wilson* (Syndicated from the Adapt Research Blog)

Efforts to prevent nuclear war should be greatly intensified – but we must also consider what happens if prevention fails. NZ is often cited as somewhere most likely to preserve a thriving society through a nuclear aftermath. However, our society is a complex adaptive system heavily dependent on trade. Major perturbations triggered by nuclear war could shift the state of NZ society from one of flourishing to one of mere survival. We detail these risks of societal failure and conclude with a set of first steps NZ could take to strengthen its societal systems.

Continue reading →

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

Tuesday, April 12th, 2022 | carra86p | 3 Comments

Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick Wilson*

Summers J, Baker M, Wilson N. The Omicron waves – Comparing Aotearoa NZ and Australia in four key graphs. Public Health Expert Blog. 12 April 2022. https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/the-omicron-waves-comparing-aotearoa-nz-and-australia-in-four-key-graphs/

In this blog we explore the first Covid-19 Omicron variant waves in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). We find that Australia’s first Omicron wave resulted in higher hospitalisation and ICU occupancy compared to NZ. However, when examining the Auckland region compared with the rest of NZ, Auckland’s experience of the first Omicron wave is more severe, with a higher hospitalisation rate. We recommend that the NZ Government does more to prepare for a possible second Omicron wave (as in Australia) and for future variants of concern. Priority areas are increasing vaccination coverage and improving mask use and indoor ventilation.

Continue reading →

Junk food and sugar-sweetened beverage taxes: Likely to produce numerous benefits in NZ

Monday, April 11th, 2022 | carra86p | No Comments

Dr Leah Grout, Dr Nhung Nghiem, Dr Christine Cleghorn*

Grout L, Nghiem N, Cleghorn C. Junk food and sugar-sweetened beverage taxes: Likely to produce numerous benefits in NZ. Public Health Expert Blog. 11 April 2022. https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/junk-food-and-sugar-sweetened-beverage-taxes-likely-to-produce-numerous-benefits-in-nz/

Poor diet is a major risk factor for excess weight gain and obesity-related diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, and multiple cancers. In this blog we summarise our recent modelling work that suggests that the implementation of taxes on unhealthy foods and beverages in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) will lead to health gains, health system cost-savings, and reductions in health inequalities.

Continue reading →