Healthier Lives Newsletter May 2024
27 June 2024
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.
Parry is the second Healthier Lives Deputy Director to be awarded this prestigious prize, with Andrew Sporle being a member of the Te Pūnaha Matatini Centre of Research Excellence team, led by Professor Shaun Hendy, which was awarded the 2020 prize for modelling research that informed New Zealand’s world-leading response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prestigious prize for life-changing research
Saving our health system
Population-level health measures to prevent disease, relieve pressure on the health system, and preserve access to healthcare in New Zealand have been highlighted in a media release issued by Healthier Lives director Professor Jim Mann and deputy director Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu.
As funding for National Science Challenge comes to an end, researchers are interested to know what the New Zealand government has planned in this space, given the ongoing shortage of doctors and funds to expand healthcare services in Aotearoa.
Saving our Health System – Healthier Lives media release
Pacific health initiatives
Pacific researchers, communities and nations are exploring creative ways to address the health impacts of
diet-related diseases.
Dr Cloe Posimani gathered the experiences and views of people navigating Niue’s changing food environment on a recent research visit funded by Healthier Lives. The latest Research Voices article describes what Cloe has discovered so far.
Riz Firestone (Massey University) was interviewed about the Oire Tokoroa Family Diabetes Lifestyle Programme, a unique programme driven by “vaevae orooro” or family champions to support healthy lifestyles in Pasifika families in Tokoroa (Dr Firestone’s interview starts at 14 mins).
In recently published research (not funded by Healthier Lives), Dr Andrea Teng used data from the wider Pacific region to examine the impact of taxes on unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. This research shows that New Zealand is falling further behind our Pacific neighbours, and more than a hundred other countries, who are using fiscal measures to protect their populations from unhealthy foods and sugary drinks.
At Healthier Lives’ recent Kōrero Tahi, our international science adviser Professor Nick Wareham (University of Cambridge) made mention of Dr Teng’s sugar tax research while discussing the sugar levy introduced in the UK in 2018, which is now showing clear signs of health benefits.
Professor Nick Wareham’s presentation at Kōrero Tahi 2024 on population-level interventions and the UK sugar levy (this discussion starts at 45 mins).
Research results
- Transport poverty
A publication on transport poverty from the Healthier Lives and Ageing Well funded ACTIVATION project has been widely covered in the media.
The Christchurch arm of the study, led by Professor Simon Kingham and Dr Angela Curl, undertook a series of surveys with residents of a social housing complex in Ōtautahi which reveal the impact of transport poverty on the ability of people on lower incomes to access essential services.
In their most recent survey, researchers took the opportunity to find out if the NZTA half price bus fares had improved this situation. The results have sparked national and international interest and informed on-going public transport provision.
Transport poverty can be alleviated – link to the news story
- Research Finding Brief for the HYPE study
Research Finding Brief is now available for the HYPE study, led by Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu, which evaluated the voluntary National Healthy Food and Drink Policy.
The findings of this evaluation are important, given that this is one of only a handful of New Zealand policies that exist to help improve our food environment. As a country, we need to know if such policies are effective and, if not, whether they could be enhanced.
HealthY Policy Evaluation brief [PDF]
Congratulations
We warmly congratulate Professor Rod Jackson (University of Auckland) on being elected a Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellow of the Academy of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in recognition of his contribution to “advancing the field of epidemiology and undertaking world-class epidemiological research”.
Healthier Lives was proud to support the research of Professor Jackson and his team to derive and validate new equations for CVD risk prediction.
The findings of this research demonstrated the striking effect of socioeconomic factors and ethnicity, and showed that previous equations overestimated risk for some groups and underestimated it for others. These findings have been embedded in clinical practice, helping GPs to identify CVD risk more accurately and treat their patients more effectively.
Latest cohort of Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows announced
Publications
- Featured publications
Ethnic differences of the care pathway following an out-of-hospital cardiac event: A systematic review.
A study led by Dr Matire Harwood is the first of its kind to take a global perspective on the care pathway for Indigenous people following an acute cardiac event.*
A systematic review of 40 eligible articles (published between 2000 and 2023) identified several factors along the care pathway that need to be targeted if we are to achieve equitable access to care for minoritised populations.
A major strength of the study was the use of the “CONSIDER statement”, a set of guidelines aimed at ensuring that research involving Indigenous participants meets their health equity priorities. The authors advocate that future research with, by, and for Indigenous communities is aligned to the statement.
* The Manawataki Fatu Fatu research project is co-funded by Healthier Lives and The Heart Foundation of New Zealand.
Adapting an equity-focused implementation process framework with a focus on ethnic health inequities in the Aotearoa New Zealand context
This study, led by Professor Sue Crengle, developed the first equity-focused process-type implementation framework, intended for use by mainstream health services in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The framework is currently being tested in a lung cancer screening intervention in Northland and Auckland, and tools used to facilitate the implementation of this framework are being featured in online masterclasses.
Facilitators and barriers for implementation of health programmes with Māori communities
This study, published by the Healthier Lives Implementation Network group and led by Professor John Oetzel, was aimed at addressing health inequities for Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. It used a mixed method approach that included an online survey and in-depth interviews with Māori community providers.
Researchers identified four social and cultural barriers and four facilitators in achieving equitable health outcomes for Māori communities, and reinforced the need to partner with Māori providers to develop successful health programmes that meet the needs of Māori communities.
Facilitators and barriers for implementation of health programmes with Māori communities
- Recent publications
Considering the importance of transport to the wellbeing of Māori social housing residents. Els Russell, Christina McKerchar, James Berghan, Angela Curl, Helen Fit. Journal of Transport and Health (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2024.101809
Ethnic differences of the care pathway following an out-of-hospital cardiac event: A systematic review. Rochelle Newport, Corina Grey, Bridget Dicker, Shanthi Ameratunga, Matire Harwood. Resuscitation, 193 (2023).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2023.110017
Adapting an equity-focused implementation process framework with a focus on ethnic health inequities in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Papillon Gustafson, Michelle Lambert, Karen Bartholomew, Mihi Ratima, Yasmin Abdul Aziz, Lisa Kremer, Adam Fusheini, Peter Carswell, Rachel Brown, Patricia Priest & Sue Crengle.Int J Equity Health 23, 15 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-02087-y
Facilitators and barriers for implementation of health programmes with Māori communities. John Oetzel, Renei Ngawati, Darrio Penetito-Hemara, Tori Te Puke, Akarere Henry, Sulita Povaru-Bourne, Dianne Sika-Paotonu. Implement Sci Commun 5, 26 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-024-00567-y
View our 2019-24 Research Strategy
He Pikinga Waiora Research Findings Brief
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