Healthier Lives

Ka ara mai a Matariki, ka ara mai a Puaka, ka mānawatia a Puaka, ka mānawatia a Matariki. The celebration of Matariki in 2024 coincides with the official end of National Science Challenge funding. It is a time for us to acknowledge the mahi and dedication of our researchers and communities over the last decade, […]

Prime minister’s top science prize  Healthier Lives is incredibly proud of our Deputy Director, Professor Parry Guilford, who has been awarded the 2023 Te Pūiaki Putaiao Matua a Te Pirimia Prime Minister’s Science Prize for research undertaken in partnership with the Kimihauora Health and Research Clinic that has transformed the lives of people with inherited stomach cancer. […]

An exhibition of photographs portraying how mana whenua see themselves in the urban environment has given an intimate insight into the power of cultural landscapes. This exhibition has come about as part of the Healthier Lives and Ageing Well-funded ACTIVATION project, a mutifaceted programme investigating the impact of transport and community infrastructure on people’s health […]

The ACTIVATION team, funded by Healthier Lives and Ageing Well, has trialed several new transport initiatives to increase active transport opportunities in lower income and residential communities. Filmmaker Ollie Dawe has made two short films that demonstrate the wide-ranging benefits of this research. In Ōtautahi Christchurch, residents at an Arvida Retirement Village have a new-found […]

The Health Systems Change team, led by Professor Sue Crengle at the University of Otago, has developed the FrEEI-A* framework and readiness assessment tool to support the implementation of health interventions capable of delivering equal outcomes. The team were keen to share how Implementation Science (IS) can help people working within the health system to […]

The Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer team. Photo: Salina Galvan Photography Healthier Lives Deputy Director, Professor Parry Guilford, has been jointly awarded the Te Pūiaki Putaiao Matua a Te Pirimia Prime Minister’s Science Prize for 2023, for his role as principal investigator in the Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC) group. The HDGC group has been recognised for […]

New Zealand’s temporary half-price bus fares were critically important in enabling people on low incomes to make essential journeys, according to recently published findings from the Healthier Lives and Ageing Well-funded ACTIVATION project. Transport New Zealand Waka Kotahi introduced half-price bus fares from April 2022 to June 2023 as part of a transport relief package […]

Healthier Lives has launched companion reports about co-designing health research in Aotearoa New Zealand, at Kōrero Tahi 2024: equity and beyond. Co-designing health research in Aotearoa New Zealand describes a Kaupapa Māori evaluation of five Healthier Lives’ projects. The report outlines the elements needed for authentic co-design of health research with Māori and Pacific communities.  […]

Upcoming event: We invite you to join the livestream of the Healthier Lives Kōrero Tahi 2024: equity and beyond 13-14 February, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington Healthier Lives is bringing together our researchers and kaupapa partners (stakeholders) at Kōrero Tahi 2024 to promote the uptake and implementation of research findings. This event features two keynote speakers: […]

Illustrated summaries of two research surveys provide accessible feedback to participants in the ACTIVATION project, a major research initiative jointly funded by two National Science Challenges – Healthier Lives and Ageing Well. Among other things, ACTIVATION is investigating the concept of shared mobility – having shared access to a vehicle or bicycle – in two […]

Director’s message With the end of the year almost upon us, Healthier Lives is reflecting on the tasks ahead to bring our research to fruition and into the hands of policymakers and communities to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders. February will see the return to New Zealand of […]

The three health and wellbeing National Science Challenges have produced a wealth of research outputs, which have now been brought together in a single inventory:  Ngā taunakitanga mō te hauora me te toiora i Aotearoa New ZealandEvidence for health and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand. The inventory contains information about: new models of care and […]

Director’s update It is rewarding to see the dissemination of Healthier Lives research evidence influencing the development of new health policies and programmes.  This newsletter contains details about several promising initiatives. The  HYPE study has generated important findings and produced tools to assist with implementing a new national Healthy Food and Drink policy, and the […]

The National Healthy Food and Drink Policy, developed by the National Food & Drink Environments Network in partnership with the Ministry of Health, is one of the few New Zealand policies that aims to improve our food environment. It was adopted as a voluntary policy in 2016 by the previous District Health Boards and some […]

The Oire Tokoroa Family Diabetes Lifestyle Programme, led by Massey University researcher Associate Professor Ridvan Tupai-Firestone, and co-designed with Tokoroa-based health provider South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services Trust (SWPICS), led by Akarere Henry, recently held a celebration to mark the end of the project and provide feedback to the community.   This type 2 diabetes prevention programme, built around the central […]

In this issue: Research voices: Els Russell The completion of a Master’s in Public Health by Els Russell, as part of the Healthier Lives – Ageing Well ACTIVATION project, has enabled the lived experience of Māori in social housing to be heard. This research has important implications for equitable social housing policy, with findings that are […]

After its mid-winter carnival of light, Dunedin’s dark winter months were illuminated for a second time by lanterns at the Petridish venue, and rich kōrero between scientists and members of the public at the 2023 New Zealand International Science Festival. Research from the eleven National Science Challenges featured in panel discussions over four evenings from […]