Patterns of Declining Smoking in NZ – But More Action Needed by the New Government

Monday, November 20th, 2017 | dayhi34p | No Comments

Nick Wilson, Frederieke Sanne van der Deen, Richard Edwards, George Thomson, Anaru Waa, Tony Blakely

Just published results from the NZ Health Survey indicate ongoing declines in smoking for Māori and for European New Zealanders. In this blog we comment on the possible reasons for these trends and describe recent work on how progress could be accelerated.

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Walking and cycling for transport is good for physical activity levels in Kiwis!

Tuesday, October 31st, 2017 | dayhi34p | 1 Comment

Dr Caroline Shaw

Physical activity is good for health. Higher levels of physical activity are associated with reduced rates of breast and colon cancer, better mental health, lower obesity rates, lower heart disease, stroke (the list goes on). This blog looks at a new study we just published that found that New Zealanders who walk or cycle to their main activity each day have a 76% higher chance of achieving the Ministry of Health physical activity guidelines than those who drive cars.

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Home Modification to Reduce Falls – Appears Cost-Effective in NZ

Tuesday, October 10th, 2017 | dayhi34p | 1 Comment

Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Giorgi Kvizhinadze, Dr Nisha Nair, Prof Tony Blakely

We have just published a modelling study on a home safety and modification programme to prevent falls in older people. This work suggests that this intervention could produce considerable health gain and be cost-effective at a health district level in New Zealand. But in this blog we discuss possible implementation options and the desirability of also considering group exercise programmes, which have additional advantages.

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“Achieving Smokefree Aotearoa by 2025”: a response to critiques

Friday, October 6th, 2017 | dayhi34p | No Comments

Prof Richard Edwards, Prof Tony Blakely, Prof Chris Cunningham, Frederieke Sanne van der Deen, Stephanie Erick, Zoe Hawke, Prof Janet Hoek, A/Prof George Thomson, Louise Thornley, Anaru Waa, Prof Nick Wilson

The “Achieving Smokefree Aotearoa by 2025” Action Plan was launched at Parliament on 2 August. A previous blog described its key features and a rationale for the recommended measures. This blog addresses critiques of the Plan; it discusses the potential role e-cigarettes could play in achieving the Smokefree 2025 goal and examines how measures in the Action Plan will support people who smoke to either quit or to transition fully from smoking to vaping.

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Climate Change and Recent Actions of NZ Political Parties

Thursday, September 14th, 2017 | dayhi34p | No Comments

Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Richard Edwards, Dr Cristina Cleghorn, Prof Michael Baker, Dr Caroline Shaw, A/Prof Ralph Chapman, Prof Philippa Howden-Chapman

The health organisation OraTaiao convened a group of experts to analyse the climate change policies of NZ political party policies. It gave the highest grade to the Green Party, then the Labour Party, and then The Opportunities Party (TOP). This blog takes a supplementary approach, looking at actual climate related actions taken in the last Parliamentary term (since late 2014). It suggests that relative to its power in the Parliament, the Green Party has done the best. The National Party has an overall poor performance grading – given the many opportunities it has had in Government.

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