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Background: Historical socio-political processes have produced gross inequity of health resource for Aboriginal Australians and New Zealand Māori. Objectives: This paper argues that socio-political factors resulting from the entrenchment of colonialism have produced significant personal and structural barriers to the utilisation of healthcare services and directly impact the health status of these two vulnerable groups. Design: Discussion Paper. Conclusions: Understanding the actual barriers preventing the utilisation of healthcare facilities, as perceived by Indigenous people, is essential in reducing the gross disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous morbidity and mortality in Australia and New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the influences and outcomes of He Kāinga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme over 25 years, and their impact on housing and health policy in Aotearoa and internationally. Working in partnership particularly with Māori and Pasifika communities, we have conducted randomised control trials which have shown the health and broad co-benefits of retrofitted insulation, heating and remediation of home hazards, which have underpinned government policy in the Warm Up NZ-Heat Smart programme and the Healthy Homes Standards for rental housing. These trials have been included as evidence in the WHO Housing and Health Guidelines and led to our designation as a WHO Collaborating Centre on Housing and Wellbeing. We are increasingly explicitly weaving Māori frameworks, values and processes with traditional Western science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Muslim community is a vibrant part of New Zealand society. As this community grows, researchers will need to strengthen engagement and collaboration to tailor the delivery of services. Given the paucity of the literature, this conceptual paper drawing on a study on health and Ramadan presents an exemplar for doing research with Muslim communities. This paper proposes several key elements (i) the importance of relationships, (ii) engagement with imams (mosque leaders), (iii) cultural and religious safety, (iv) a gendered approach and (v) utilizing religious festivals. These findings will be of interest to policy makers, practitioners and scholars wishing to engage with this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Māori hold unique views on the lifecourse but there has been limited Māori-led longitudinal research to date. There is a particular need for kaupapa Māori and interface longitudinal research that generates mātauranga Māori and enables Māori-initiated transformative action. In this paper, we identify key features of a Māori lifecourse framework and its application to longitudinal research at the interface of mātauranga Māori and Western science. We describe how these features are applied in the Taranaki Māori-led longitudinal research programme Te Kura Mai i Tawhiti. Māori will benefit from a regionally-focussed Māori approach to lifecourse research at the interface. This approach can be applied directly in future localised research led by Māori and other Indigenous peoples. Māori-led longitudinal research will inform effective interventions to lift Māori wellbeing and prospects throughout all stages of life and strengthen Māori contributions to wider society. Māori approaches to longitudinal research will help shape new futures for Māori and a brighter future for all peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand. Glossary of Māori words: ao Māori: Māori world; Aotearoa: Māori name for New Zealand; hāngī: an earth oven or food cooked in such an oven; hapū: subtribe (also meaning to be pregnant); iwi: tribe, people; kaitiaki: guardian (also meaning teacher); kaupapa Māori: Māori paradigm; based within a Māori worldview; Māori: indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand; mātauranga Māori: Māori knowledge; mokopuna: grandchildren; ōhākī: parting wishes before death; Pākehā: primarily referring to New Zealand Europeans; reo Māori: Māori language; tamariki: children; Tangi te Kawekaweā: study title (the call of the kawekaweā, long-tailed cuckoo, heralds spring and the opportunity for growth); Taranaki: a tribal nation and region of Aotearoa New Zealand; Te Kura mai I Tawhiti: research programme title (sacred legacy of an ancient era); tauiwi: outsider, commonly referring to non-Māori; tuakiri: identity; wānanga: forum for sharing knowledge/learning; whakapapa: genealogy; whanau: extended family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are access, treatment and morbidity inequities for Māori (Indigenous people of New Zealand) with cancer in Aotearoa (New Zealand). This includes inequities in quality of life and experiences of the palliative care setting for Māori. This review included 20 papers that were identified through a combination of our literature review and key informant surveys. In this review, we consider the context of palliative care and cancer quality of care for Māori, draw on evidence regarding access and challenges for Māori with cancer in the palliative setting and discuss how to achieve palliative care equity for Māori with cancer. In Aotearoa, palliative care has fundamental underpinnings based on westernised understandings of health with a focus on addressing physical health aspects. Our findings highlight the misalignment of this approach with regard to Māori with cancer in the palliative care setting and to being able to fulfil their right to good health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has forced us to think critically about alternative global and local response strategies to the unprecedented devastation. Some of the most infected groups are Pacific communities and this has raised concern about the need to seriously address the issue of health and socio-economic inequality. One way of doing this is through social protection. The paper critically examines some of the conventional notions of social protection, especially those predicated on market-imperatives and assumptions and argues for new and community-relevant innovative social protection strategies to effectively mitigate the effects of COVID-19. It then discusses the integrated social protection approach (ISPA). The paper argues that while ISPA is an attempt to create an alternative, inclusive and participatory social protection strategy, the issues of equity in terms of distribution of resources and power still need to be fully addressed because of their potential to cause tension within the community. The meaningful participation and empowerment of the Pacific communities and the strategic use of their cultural norms in social protection framing and implementation are important in building up resilience and sustainability to mitigate effectively against the sudden onset of pandemics such as COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the persistence of Indigenous health inequities across national contexts, many countries have adopted strategies to improve the health of Indigenous peoples. Governmental recognition of the unique health needs of Indigenous populations is necessary for the development of targeted programs and policies to achieve universal health coverage. At the same time, the participation of Indigenous peoples in decision-making and program and policy design helps to ensure that barriers to health services are appropriately addressed and promotes the rights of Indigenous peoples to self-determination. Due to similar patterns of Indigenous health and health determinants across borders, there have been calls for greater global collaboration in this field. However, most international studies on Indigenous health policy link Anglo-settler democracies (Canada, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States), despite these countries representing a small fraction of the world's Indigenous people. Aim: This paper examines national-level policy in Australia, Brazil, Chile and New Zealand in relation to governmental recognition of differential Indigenous health needs and engagement with Indigenous peoples in health. The paper aims to examine how Indigenous health needs and engagement are addressed in national policy frameworks within each of the countries in order to contribute to the understanding of how to develop pro-equity policies within national health care systems. Methods: For each country, a review was undertaken of national policies and legislation to support engagement with, and participation of, Indigenous peoples in the identification of their health needs, development of programs and policies to address these needs and which demonstrate governmental recognition of differential Indigenous health needs. Government websites were searched as well as the following databases: Google, OpenGrey, CAB Direct, PubMed, Web of Science and WorldCat. Findings: Each of the four countries have adopted international agreements regarding the engagement of Indigenous peoples in health. However, there is significant variation in the extent to which the principles laid out in these agreements are reflected in national policy, legislation and practice. Brazil and New Zealand both have established national policies to facilitate engagement. In contrast, national policy to enable engagement is relatively lacking in Australia and Chile. Australia, Brazil and New Zealand each have significant initiatives and policy structures in place to address Indigenous health. However, in Brazil this is not necessarily reflected in practice and although New Zealand has national policies these have been recently reported as insufficient and, in fact, may be contributing to health inequity for Māori. In comparison to the other three countries, Chile has relatively few national initiatives or policies in place to support Indigenous engagement or recognise the distinct health needs of Indigenous communities. Conclusions: The adoption of international policy frameworks forms an important step in ensuring that Indigenous peoples are able to participate in the formation and implementation of health policy and programs. However, without the relevant principles being reflected in national legislature, international agreements hold little weight. At the same time, while a national legislative framework facilitates the engagement of Indigenous peoples, such policy may not necessarily translate into practice. Developing multi-level approaches that improve cohesion between international policy, national policy and practice in Indigenous engagement in health is therefore vital. Given that each of the four countries demonstrate strengths and weaknesses across this causal chain, cross-country policy examination provides guidance on strengthening these links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present the psychological strengths we identified from interviews with community dwelling older adults. Data for this paper is drawn from participants in a community dwelling older adult study. The latter involved qualitative in‐depth interviews with the participants exploring their well‐being. All participants were community dwelling and living in a region in the North Island of New Zealand. Interviews took place between March 2017 to September 2017. Thirty‐seven older adults between the ages of 66–99 took part in semi‐structured interviews and all interviews were audio‐recorded. Interviews ranged from 1 to 3 hr. Analysis was informed by the Values in Action Character strengths framework. We were able to identify strengths within the VIA conceptual framework comprising; cognitive strengths, emotional strengths, social and community strengths, protective strengths and transcendental strengths. Throughout this study we found that participants experienced difficulties in identifying and talking about their strengths. In many ways this may reflect participants' strength of humility, demonstrating modesty in talking about themselves. This study has highlighted the challenges older adults experienced in identifying their own strengths. However, the study has demonstrated how narratives can be one way of uncovering psychological strengths with older adults. In particular, these findings highlight the range of strengths, for example, bravery, gratitude, hope, humour, kindness, perseverance, spirituality, that older adults have and give a voice in highlighting these. However, more practical ways of making strength‐based practices workable in daily practice, for example, in clinical assessment and health promotion programs are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than 40 years, health and physical education (HPE) academics in universities and teacher education colleges have drawn attention to issues of social justice specific to the context of PE and advocated for teachers in fields, gymnasiums and other physical activity spaces to do a better job of promoting more equitable outcomes for all students. Building on this advocacy, in the late 1990s, countries such as Sweden, Norway and New Zealand designed HPE curricula that address social justice. However, limited research has focused specifically on the enactment of social justice in HPE practice. Drawing on a larger international project involving Sweden, Norway and New Zealand the aim of this article is therefore to explore the constitution of social justice pedagogies across these three different HPE contexts and more specifically how HPE teaching practice may be understood from regulative, normative and cultural perspectives on social justice. The data reported on in this paper were generated from educational acts, curriculum documents, observations of HPE lessons in each of the three countries and follow-up teacher interviews. In order to analyse the data, we employed Scott's (2008. Institutions and organizations: Ideas and interests (3rd ed). Sage) institutional theory to further understand and discuss the enactment of social justice across the three different countries in HPE practice. In our representation and analysis of the findings we draw attention to how social justice pedagogies are informed differently by institutionalised governing systems and therefore they may be enacted differently by teachers in different societies. In particular, we highlight the influence of (i) regulative; (ii) normative; (iii) cultural-cognitive elements on practice. We conclude by pointing out the complex interplay between regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive elements that both enable and constrain HPE teachers' enactments of social justice in HPE practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over recent decades, psychological health interventions have assumed a more prominent role in the conduct and regulation of daily life. Conceptualised in the critical social sciences as psychological governance, this development entails shaping the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of individuals and populations to promote desired psychological states and conduct. In step with broader sociotechnical shifts, psychological governance is increasingly mobilised through digital technologies, such as smartphone apps. The COVID-19 pandemic marks a pivotal moment in the proliferation of digital mental wellbeing technologies. This paper examines the mental wellbeing app Mentemia, made available to the New Zealand public through government funding in the wake of COVID-19, exploring how Mentemia frames and addresses mental wellbeing in the context of the pandemic. Drawing from thematic analysis of within-app material and news media articles, we illustrate how Mentemia constructs mental wellbeing as a universal, everyday, and individual process and encourages users to engage with psychological intervention as a normalised component of daily life. We find that Mentemia's approach to framing and addressing mental wellbeing during COVID-19 aligns with prevailing discourses associated with the individualising and emancipatory values of contemporary neoliberalism which, in the context of psychological governance, presents as neuroliberalism. We highlight how Mentemia advances a particular understanding of psychological intervention to help remedy pandemic-related mental ill-health, illustrating the capacity for digital technologies to alter how mental wellbeing is experienced and acted on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of factors which influence health after a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event will assist with reducing the high health and economic burden of CVD. We undertook a systematic review to investigate the association between social health (lower social isolation, higher social support and lower loneliness) and health and well‐being after a CVD event among people living in Australia and New Zealand. Four electronic databases were systematically searched until June 2020. Two reviewers undertook title/abstract screen. One reviewer undertook full‐text screen and data extraction. A second author either independently extracted or checked data. Narrative thematic analysis was undertaken. Of the 752 unique records retrieved, 39 papers from 29 studies met our inclusion criteria. Included studies recruited between 10 and 1,455 participants, aged 12–96 years, and the majority were male. Greater social health was consistently associated with better mental health outcomes (lower depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and psychological distress). Lower social isolation and higher social support were associated with the extent to which patient needs were being met. Living situation was not associated with mental health outcomes, and being married or living with someone was associated with greater medication adherence. Our systematic review demonstrates that greater social health is associated with better mental health outcomes and met patient needs among cardiac patients. As partner status and living status did not align with social isolation and social support findings in this review, we recommend they not be used as social health proxies when assessing health outcomes among CVD patients. Our review highlights the need for more research focused on women and the importance of gender‐disaggregated reporting. Further assessment is required to evaluate whether loneliness is associated with health and well‐being outcomes after a CVD event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Rural‐urban health inequities, exacerbated by deprivation and ethnicity, have been clearly described in the international literature. To date, the same inequities have not been as clearly demonstrated in Aotearoa New Zealand despite the lower socioeconomic status and higher proportion of Māori living in rural towns. This is ascribed by many health practitioners, academics and other informed stakeholders to be the result of the definitions of 'rural' used to produce statistics. Aims: To outline a protocol to produce a 'fit‐for‐health purpose' rural‐urban classification for analysing national health data. The classification will be designed to determine the magnitude of health inequities that have been obscured by use of inappropriate rural‐urban taxonomies. Methods: This protocol paper outlines our proposed mixed‐methods approach to developing a novel Geographic Classification for Health. In phase 1, an agreed set of community attributes will be used to modify the new Statistics New Zealand Urban Accessibility Classification into a more appropriate classification of rurality for health contexts. The Geographic Classification for Health will then be further developed in an iterative process with stakeholders including rural health researchers and members of the National Rural Health Advisory Group, who have a comprehensive 'on the ground' understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand's rural communities and their attendant health services. This protocol also proposes validating the Geographic Classification for Health using general practice enrolment data. In phase 2, the resulting Geographic Classification for Health will be applied to routinely collected data from the Ministry of Health. This will enable current levels of rural‐urban inequity in health service access and outcomes to be accurately assessed and give an indication of the extent to which older classifications were masking inequities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provision of gender affirming hormone therapy for transgender and non-binary people is a rapidly developing area of gender affirming healthcare. While research indicates the benefits of providing gender affirming hormone therapy through interdisciplinary primary care-based models, less is known about how service users and providers construct their understandings of affirmative approaches. In this paper, we present findings from a discourse analysis of four service users' and four healthcare professionals' talk about a primary care-based pilot clinic providing gender affirming hormone therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Participants employed notions of pathologisation, time, and agency in their talk to construct the clinic as a personal setting which gave service users time to make their own health decisions, while constructing hospitals as impersonal with lengthy wait times. The assessment-driven nature of best practice guidelines that governed clinicians' decision-making was constructed as constraining users' agency. Findings highlight the ongoing importance of aligning gender affirming hormone therapy with other non-disease types of healthcare, and suggest new ways for achieving this through affirmative approaches to healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the results of mixed‐methods research on Māori and cycling. Our findings suggest that Māori cycle at similar rates to Pākehā (NZ European); however conditions may differ, possibly indicating higher levels of "necessity cycling" amongst Māori. Māori experience similar barriers to cycling, including a lack of suitable cycling infrastructure, but these occur against a backdrop of stark social, economic and transport‐related inequities. Particular barriers for Māori may include inflexible work conditions, concerns about neighbourhood safety, inadequate provision for social cycling, and lack of access to places of importance to Māori. We identify potential solutions, including more whānau‐friendly and culturally safe cycling infrastructure, and cycling programmes designed around Māori commitments to whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This paper presents updated prevalence estimates of awareness, ever‐use, and current use of nicotine vaping products (NVPs) from 14 International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC Project) countries that have varying regulations governing NVP sales and marketing. Design, Setting, Participants and Measurements: A cross‐sectional analysis of adult (≥ 18 years) current smokers and ex‐smokers from 14 countries participating in the ITC Project. Data from the most recent survey questionnaire for each country were included, which spanned the period 2013–17. Countries were categorized into four groups based on regulations governing NVP sales and marketing (allowable or not), and level of enforcement (strict or weak where NVPs are not permitted to be sold): (1) most restrictive policies (MRPs), not legal to be sold or marketed with strict enforcement: Australia, Brazil, Uruguay; (2) restrictive policies (RPs), not approved for sale or marketing with weak enforcement: Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand; (3) less restrictive policies (LRPs), legal to be sold and marketed with regulations: England, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, United States; and (4) no regulatory policies (NRPs), Bangladesh, China, Zambia. Countries were also grouped by World Bank Income Classifications. Country‐specific weighted logistic regression models estimated adjusted NVP prevalence estimates for: awareness, ever/current use, and frequency of use (daily versus non‐daily). Findings NVP awareness and use were lowest in NRP countries. Generally, ever‐ and current use of NVPs were lower in MRP countries (ever‐use = 7.1–48.9%; current use = 0.3–3.5%) relative to LRP countries (ever‐use = 38.9–66.6%; current use = 5.5–17.2%) and RP countries (ever‐use = 10.0–62.4%; current use = 1.4–15.5%). NVP use was highest among high‐income countries, followed by upper–middle‐income countries, and then by lower–middle‐income countries. Conclusions: With a few exceptions, awareness and use of nicotine vaping products varied by the strength of national regulations governing nicotine vaping product sales/marketing, and by country income. In countries with no regulatory policies, use rates were very low, suggesting that there was little availability, marketing and/or interest in nicotine vaping products in these countries where smoking populations are predominantly poorer. The higher awareness and use of nicotine vaping products in high income countries with moderately (e.g. Canada, New Zealand) and less (e.g. England, United States) restrictive policies, is likely due to the greater availability and affordability of nicotine vaping products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper we reflect on discussions with people of advanced age in Āotearoa New Zealand, and draw on theoretical frameworks of resilience and place in old age, to explore insights about the ways older people maintain quality of life and health. Twenty community-dwelling people of advanced age (85+) were recruited in 2015–16 from a large multidisciplinary longitudinal study of advanced age. These twenty participated in interviews about health in advanced age, impact of illnesses, interactions with clinicians, access to information, support for managing health, and perceptions of primary care, medications, and other forms of assistance. We use a positioning theory framework drawing on thematic and narrative analysis to understand the dynamic ways people in advanced age position themselves and the ways they age well through speech acts and storylines. People in advanced age saw themselves as challenged, rather than threatened, by adversities, and positioned themselves as able to draw on a lifetime of experience and resourcefulness and collaborations with supporters to deal with challenges. Key strategies include downplaying illness and resisting biomedical discourses of complexity, positioning embodied selves as having agency, and creative adaptation in the face of loss. People in advanced age exhibit resilience, maintaining wellbeing, autonomy and good physical and mental quality of life even while living with challenges such as functional decline and multi-morbidities. These findings have significance for supporters of older people, emphasising the need to move away from a narrow focus on problems to working together WITH people in advanced age to offer a more holistic approach that encourages and enhances adaptation and flexibility, rather than rigid and counterproductive coping patterns. Highlights • Older people position themselves as active co-managers in their support arrangements. • Framing problems as challenges not threats facilitates older people's resourcefulness. • People in old age adapt resiliently to health conditions as part of living and ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper addresses a hitherto unexamined phenomenon in the geography of health promotion: the use of postage stamps. We 'read' health stamps as featuring imagery and exhortations that reflect temporally-specific understandings of children's health and wellbeing. As a case study, we examine examples of the stamps sold annually since 1929 as a fund-raiser for New Zealand Children's Health Camps Foundation. This government-supported voluntary sector agency sought to offer respite for children from unhealthy environments and enhance their wellbeing through offering opportunities in semi-rural locations focusing on nutrition and exercise. Recently, emphasis changed to concern with behavioural issues such as self-esteem. The annual stamp appeal continued until 2016 with nuanced themes (e.g., birds and butterflies, invoking associated ideas of children as vulnerable yet precious and needing protection). Our goal is two-fold: first, we seek to theorise the role of the postage stamp in mobilising health-promoting messages; and, second, we examine changing imaginaries associated with child health included in this annual series of stamps. Drawing on assemblage theory, we read the act of purchasing children's health stamps as offering a tacit seal of approval for child health. Through assembling resources, personnel and ideas about health, they reflected and reproduced the nation state and its goals for children's health while also crossing national boundaries. Highlights • We argue that stamps can reflect health-related aspirations of the nation state. • We read health stamps as part of assemblages of people, resources and ideas. • We analyse New Zealand health stamps noting changing constructions of child health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we reflect on discussions with people of advanced age in Āotearoa New Zealand, and draw on theoretical frameworks of resilience and place in old age, to explore insights about the ways older people maintain quality of life and health. Twenty community-dwelling people of advanced age (85+) were recruited in 2015–16 from a large multidisciplinary longitudinal study of advanced age. These twenty participated in interviews about health in advanced age, impact of illnesses, interactions with clinicians, access to information, support for managing health, and perceptions of primary care, medications, and other forms of assistance. We use a positioning theory framework drawing on thematic and narrative analysis to understand the dynamic ways people in advanced age position themselves and the ways they age well through speech acts and storylines. People in advanced age saw themselves as challenged, rather than threatened, by adversities, and positioned themselves as able to draw on a lifetime of experience and resourcefulness and collaborations with supporters to deal with challenges. Key strategies include downplaying illness and resisting biomedical discourses of complexity, positioning embodied selves as having agency, and creative adaptation in the face of loss. People in advanced age exhibit resilience, maintaining wellbeing, autonomy and good physical and mental quality of life even while living with challenges such as functional decline and multi-morbidities. These findings have significance for supporters of older people, emphasising the need to move away from a narrow focus on problems to working together WITH people in advanced age to offer a more holistic approach that encourages and enhances adaptation and flexibility, rather than rigid and counterproductive coping patterns. • Older people position themselves as active co-managers in their support arrangements. • Framing problems as challenges not threats facilitates older people's resourcefulness. • People in old age adapt resiliently to health conditions as part of living and ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a hitherto unexamined phenomenon in the geography of health promotion: the use of postage stamps. We 'read' health stamps as featuring imagery and exhortations that reflect temporally-specific understandings of children's health and wellbeing. As a case study, we examine examples of the stamps sold annually since 1929 as a fund-raiser for New Zealand Children's Health Camps Foundation. This government-supported voluntary sector agency sought to offer respite for children from unhealthy environments and enhance their wellbeing through offering opportunities in semi-rural locations focusing on nutrition and exercise. Recently, emphasis changed to concern with behavioural issues such as self-esteem. The annual stamp appeal continued until 2016 with nuanced themes (e.g., birds and butterflies, invoking associated ideas of children as vulnerable yet precious and needing protection). Our goal is two-fold: first, we seek to theorise the role of the postage stamp in mobilising health-promoting messages; and, second, we examine changing imaginaries associated with child health included in this annual series of stamps. Drawing on assemblage theory, we read the act of purchasing children's health stamps as offering a tacit seal of approval for child health. Through assembling resources, personnel and ideas about health, they reflected and reproduced the nation state and its goals for children's health while also crossing national boundaries. • We argue that stamps can reflect health-related aspirations of the nation state. • We read health stamps as part of assemblages of people, resources and ideas. • We analyse New Zealand health stamps noting changing constructions of child health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a detailed description and critique of the development of routine outcome measurement (ROM) within New Zealand's mental health and addiction services. The paper will include a brief description of the New Zealand setting and the events that led to routine outcome measures, demographic and diagnostic characteristics of the population in New Zealand, characteristics of the New Zealand mental health and addictions services, a description of the outcome measures and rationale for their selection, the information collection protocol for the outcome measures, outcome data completion rates and aggregated outcome reporting uses, barriers and facilitators to the adoption of routine outcome measures in New Zealand, and current status and next steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance sport is a big business, with nations such as Australia and New Zealand dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars in the development of facilities and in creating sporting centres of excellence. Historically, high-performance sport and elite athlete programmes (EAPs) were regulated to an extra-curricular space in schools or local communities, but over the last couple of decades, schools in Australia and New Zealand have introduced EAPs into health and physical education (PE). Recent work has begun to explore the rationale for these programmes and their educational priorities, but little research has explored how the elite athlete body is being constructed within this curriculum space. In this paper, I consider two interrelated problems. The first concerns the conflicting discourses of winning in high-performance sport versus getting everyone healthy and active in health and PE. The second involves an explanation of how the elite athlete body is being constructed in these programmes. I argue the juxtaposition of the elite athlete body as disciplined, attractive and healthy to other bodies as lazy, unattractive and unhealthy renders the other bodies as pathological or resistant to disciplinary institutions of the school. In particular, I focus on the ways in which young people's bodies are conceptualised within EAPs in relation to recreation, health, PE and other curriculum spaces. Throughout this paper, I provide examples to illustrate how EAPs may perpetuate normative ways of thinking that legitimatise elitism in schools. I propose that under radical reform, EAPs may have the potential to provide educational value and opportunities to students. I conclude by offering the cultural studies curriculum model that retains sport and desirable educational outcomes for health and PE as an alternative to elite athlete or talent development models. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper centres on research that investigated the contemporary policy, curriculum and pedagogical landscape of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in Aotearoa New Zealand, in the light of increasing impressions that provision was moving to an ‘open market’ situation. Publicly available information sourced via the Internet was used to examine the public and privately funded initiatives, programmes and resources targeted towards the provision of HPE across all phases of education. The data arising revealed an array of government and non-governmental agencies and organisations acting as producers of resources and deliverers of HPE-related programmes in schools. It also clearly pointed to structural convergence between government and non-government sectors. This paper locates the findings from the research amidst developments in policy relations and networks spanning education, health and sport, and presents a theoretically oriented critical re-examination of the structural reconfiguration of contemporary HPE in Aotearoa New Zealand. Analysis brings together insights from Ball and Junemann's work on policy networks and Bernstein's theorising of the social construction of discourse to explore linkages between policy and pedagogic relations, and the discourses and practices in HPE. Attention is directed to the significance of changes in the nature of both the Official Recontextualizing Field and Pedagogic Recontextualizing field, and the connections between the two fields. Changes in the recontextualizing fields are discussed in relation to official pedagogic discourse of HPE and the pedagogic discourse of reproduction. This analysis brings to the fore prospective curriculum and pedagogic implications of new policy networks and new networks of providers associated with provision of HPE in schools. Discussion acknowledges potentially varied readings of contemporary developments and addresses the opportunities and challenges for teachers and teacher educators in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Health information technology ( HIT) has the potential to fundamentally change the practice of optometry and the relationship between optometrists and patients and to improve clinical outcomes. This paper aims to provide data on how health information technology is currently being used in New Zealand optometric practices. Also this paper aims to explore the potential benefits and barriers to the future adoption of health information technology in New Zealand. Methods One hundred and six New Zealand optometrists were surveyed about their current use of health information technology and about potential benefits and barriers. In addition, 12 semi-structured interviews were carried out with leaders of health information technology in New Zealand optometry. The areas of interest were the current and intended use of HIT, the potential benefits of and barriers to using HIT in optometric offices and the level of investment in health information technology. Results Nearly all optometrists (98.7 per cent) in New Zealand use computers in their practices and 93.4 per cent of them use a computer in their consulting room. The most commonly used clinical assessment technology in optometric practices in New Zealand was automated perimeter (97.1 per cent), followed by a digital fundus/retinal camera (82.6 per cent) and automated lensometer (62.9 per cent). The pachymeter is the technology that most respondents intended to purchase in the next one to five years (42.6 per cent), followed by a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (36.8 per cent) and corneal topographer (32.9 per cent). The main benefits of using health information technology in optometric practices were improving patient perceptions of 'state of the art' practice and providing patients with information and digital images to explain the results of assessment. Barriers to the adoption of HIT included the need for frequent technology upgrades, cost, lack of time for implementation, and training. Conclusions New Zealand optometrists are using HIT broadly in their practices and expect HIT use to increase over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This paper explores two older Chinese immigrants' visual narratives on the value and impact of paintings beyond aesthetic merit, and the role art plays in their health, well-being and identity construction. Method: Focusing on two participants' accounts, this paper draws on data collected in a larger project that investigates ageing, housing and well-being through interviewing 32 older Chinese immigrants in New Zealand. Findings: The analysis illustrates that immigration to a new culture in old age often gives rise to experiences of biographical disruption and status-discrepancy, which may invoke isolation, anxiety and a sense of dislocation and loss. Findings reveal that art-making aids the participants in addressing biographical disruption and status-discrepancy and appreciating the richness of multiplicities of the self. Conclusions: Art contributed to positively influencing the well-being of both participants after they moved to a new culture later in their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper will argue that the Treaty of Waitangi, signed on 6 February 1840 by Māori and the Crown, has a made significant contribution to informing and advancing Māori health practices in Aotearoa New Zealand. A key focus of this paper relates to (re)validating the Treaty to improve Māori health outcomes and providing a strategy for evaluating the current health status of Māori. There is a growing concern among Māori that the health sector continues to perpetuate notions of "treating" Māori health more so than empowering Māori to control their ownprocesses for being healthy. Moreover, a major shift constitutionally (that is, self-determining the right to be healthy) as well as institutionally (that is, developing approaches to greater access to health provision) is required to enable Māori to achieve better health outcomes moving forward. Finally, a number of important culturally innovative, responsive and inclusive perspectives are shared to enhance our engagement with the Treaty and Māori health from a socio-cultural perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to ascertain the degree to which consumers are concerned about human health and environmental issues arising from both food and wine production. In particular, this study sought, for the first time, to compare consumer perceptions regarding food production practices and wine production practices. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were completed with 109 consumers inside supermarkets, general liquor stores and specialty wine stores in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. In general, consumers expressed a high level of concern regarding the effects of agricultural (food) production practices on both their own health and on the health of the environment. Consumers were found to be less concerned about the effects of wine production practices on their health and the environment, but a large segment reported that they did not know how wine was produced and thus had not, as yet, formed either positive or negative views about the effects of wine production practices. At a practical level, this paper suggests that wine marketers have a window of opportunity in which to positively influence the large number of consumers who currently do not hold any views regarding the effects of wine production on their health or the environment. This paper is of significant value because it provides a unique comparison of consumer views regarding food production and wine production and it has added to our knowledge of the 'green' consumer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review summarises nutrition and mental health research in Australia and New Zealand between 1986 and 2006. The method used to identify papers for inclusion was a search of computerised databases: Medline, Cinahl and Meditext 1986–2006, with subsequent bibliographical review. Key search words were nutrition, diet, mental disorder, mental illness, weight, physical health, Australia and New Zealand. Inclusion criteria included: English language, original data in peer reviewed journals, and examination of some component of nutrition in people with a mental illness. The review of thirteen papers found that the evidence base for dietetic practice in mental health has developed through small assessment and interventional research, often with multidisciplinary collaboration. Future research should include quality and outcome measures with intersectoral partnerships. Dietitians are well positioned to lead and participate in mental health research and to implement research findings to improve the nutritional status of this vulnerable group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a growing trend in New Zealand/Aotearoa for health research involving Māori (the indigenous people) to be conducted in partnership with Māori communities, iwi (tribes), hapū (sub-tribes) and whānau (extended families). Achieving excellence in indigenous health research which meets the standards both of the indigenous communities who partner in the research and the standards set by the academy, is often a complex and demanding objective. In this paper two Health Research Council Māori Postdoctoral Fellows explore the various challenges and tensions they have faced as researchers committed to undertaking excellent indigenous research in community-based settings, while at the same time growing their professional careers as academic researchers. The paper begins by briefly introducing the researchers and summarising the critical success factors they have shared in their respective academic journeys and the values they hold that have led to their involvement in community-based research. Two case studies of engagement in community-based research are then presented to illustrate the types of challenges faced by indigenous researchers who work both with communities and within university settings. The first case study is an iwi-based health and social services research centre while the second involves growing a research culture within an urban Māori community setting. The concept of indigenous research excellence is explored with particular reference to excellence as described by the communities themselves and to the criteria for excellence used by the Health Research Council of New Zealand to assess Māori health research proposals. The authors argue that while tensions do exist in trying to meet differing standards of excellence, managing the interface between these differing standards is a crucial activity undertaken by indigenous academic health researchers. The paper concludes by outlining the lessons and implications for the academy and the community of attempting to meet a set of dual aims, noting that while both aims can be realised, this requires researchers to skilfully balance their obligations to career and to community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing interest in English-speaking jurisdictions, including Australia, North America, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, about the prevention of sexual abuse perpetrated by children against other children. The aim of this review was to identify opportunities for research, policy and practice which could enhance the prevention agenda relating to the perpetration of sexual abuse by children through conducting a Critical Interpretive Synthesis. Eleven electronic databases were searched in the period from 22 April to 23 May 2013 and included: SocINDEX, Social Services Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, Project Muse, PsychINFO, Family and Society Plus, Jstor, Expanded Academic ASAP, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Key individual journals were also searched, including Child Abuse and Neglect and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, as well as the grey literature. The search was guided by the research question: How could the prevention agenda relating to sexual abuse perpetrated by children be enhanced? The systematic literature search yielded 3323 titles, and 34 of these papers were included in the final synthesis. The authors identified five domains operating in the evidence base: characteristics, causes, communications, interventions and treatments. A synthesising construct emerged from the review: prevention-enhancing interactions. This construct referred to the potential for enhancing the prevention agenda which exists as the evidence domains interact with one another, and with the public health model of prevention. The authors consider this review to be a timely contribution to the current agenda pertaining to sexual abuse perpetrated by children. It provides researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the field with an evidence-informed conceptualisation of opportunities for enhancing prevention work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teaching and assessment of socially responsive critical reflection in higher education is challenging, especially when learning does not take place in wider social or practice-based contexts. For many students, learning to reflect on others’ experiences in a socially responsive way requires scaffolding. This paper reports on discourses of self and other in the guided summative reflections of first-year non-clinical health students (n = 23) undertaking activities aimed at increasing social responsiveness. The reflections predominantly featured discourses of self, and the corresponding discourse of others as similar to self. Critical reflection, while infrequent, was usually associated with the less common discourse of others as unlike self. Social responsibility, an even less frequent discourse, was unrelated to self. The findings confirm the need for scaffolding of critical reflection, but also suggest that more course content involvement in others’ lived experiences is pivotal to socially responsive reflection. Further research on effective socially responsive learning and whether it influences later practice is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Contemporary Western social policy encourages older adults to maintain independence in the community. Socio-cultural norms of independence have recently become associated with successful ageing. Personal autonomy and self-responsibility are cultural markers by which older adults increasingly define their lives and identity. Many older adults seek to remain independent within their communities, while coping with age-related decline, and living alone with decreased social connectedness. These characteristics have also been associated with personal and social vulnerability and explain why older adults are at higher risk of experiencing disproportionate negative outcomes during disasters. This paper describes findings from narrative interviews with a sample of independent community-dwelling New Zealand older adults. The interviews sought to explore their views about disaster preparedness. However, within their accounts was a collective and bigger story about personal preparedness, and social relationships in later life, which extended beyond the context of preparing for a future disaster event. Older adults identified age-specific preparedness as a way to maintain independence in the everyday context of their lives. Concerns about health influenced their choices and actions as they evaluated and prioritised goals and strategies to maintain independence and wellbeing. Social relationships were also considered an important resource to support independence. Understanding the role of preparedness in the everyday lives of older adults has implications for improving the disproportionate negative outcomes this vulnerable age group can experience during a disaster. Therefore, health, gerontology and emergency management have much in common when considering older adults' preparedness during non-disaster times. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Lone parents and their children experience higher than average levels of adverse health and social outcomes, much of which are explained by high rates of poverty. Many high income countries have attempted to address high poverty rates by introducing employment requirements for lone parents in receipt of welfare benefits. However, there is evidence that employment may not reduce poverty or improve the health of lone parents and their children.Methods: We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies reporting lone parents' accounts of participation in welfare to work (WtW), to identify explanations and possible mechanisms for the impacts of WtW on health and wellbeing. Twenty one bibliographic databases were searched. Two reviewers independently screened references and assessed study quality. Studies from any high income country that met the criteria of focussing on lone parents, mandatory WtW interventions, and health or wellbeing were included. Thematic synthesis was used to investigate analytic themes between studies.Results: Screening of the 4703 identified papers and quality assessment resulted in the inclusion of 16 qualitative studies of WtW in five high income countries, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, covering a variety of welfare regimes. Our synthesis found that WtW requirements often conflicted with child care responsibilities. Available employment was often poorly paid and precarious. Adverse health impacts, such as increased stress, fatigue, and depression were commonly reported, though employment and appropriate training was linked to increased self-worth for some. WtW appeared to influence health through the pathways of conflict and control, analytical themes which emerged during synthesis. WtW reduced control over the nature of employment and care of children. Access to social support allowed some lone parents to manage the conflict associated with employment, and to increase control over their circumstances, with potentially beneficial health impacts.Conclusion: WtW can result in increased conflict and reduced control, which may lead to negative impacts on mental health. Availability of social support may mediate the negative health impacts of WtW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine how New Zealand children engage with public health agendas that seek to shape their understandings of health. We shed light on the ways children make sense of what they see, hear and come to know through public health ‘work’, and consider what effects this has for how they come to think of their ‘selves’ and relations with others. We pay attention to the way public health messages assemble, bolstered by dispositions, behaviours and ruminations expressed in schools, families and communities. Children’s talk exemplifies the sheer volume of public health missives saturating their worlds and the range of media used to reach into children’s lives. In many cases, children are ‘doing it for themselves’ in the sense that they are attempting to enact health imperatives about healthy eating, regular exercise and weight management. However, alongside the willingness of many to simply believe and enact health information, we draw attention to the capacity of some children to think through public health messages, negotiate and make sense of them in relation to their own lives. Despite the ubiquity and mantra-like quality of public health messages currently directed at children we contend they are variously interpreted and embedded in children’s lives. We regard the messiness and complexity of children’s engagement as affirmation that a critically informed variety of public health could provide opportunities for children to come to know health as more than simply eating the right foods and running a lot. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Geographical inequalities in health are omnipresent with health and related behaviours typically worse in socioeconomically deprived places. However, this is not always true. Deprived places with unexpectedly good health outcomes, or what might be considered ‘resilient’ places, have been noted. Few studies have quantitatively examined resilience in neighbourhoods or investigated potential explanations for this resilience. This paper examines the paradox of low mortality despite high social deprivation in New Zealand neighbourhoods and considers possible neighbourhood characteristics that contribute to unanticipated positive health outcomes. Using area-level mortality (2005–2007) and socioeconomic data, we developed the Resilience Index New Zealand to quantify neighbourhood levels of resilience across the country. We then examined relationships between this measure and a suite of built, physical and social characteristics. We found that resilient places tended to be densely populated, urban areas. We observed gradients and increases/decreases in the most resilient groups in access to or levels of physical environment factors (environmental deprivation, safe drinking water, air quality) and unhealthy living infrastructure (alcohol and gambling outlets). Since these factors are amenable to change, these findings are the strongest evidence that such improvements may lower mortality in similarly deprived places. The social environment of resilient areas was characterised by high levels of incoming residents. We also found some surprising associations and observed U-shaped relationships for a number of the neighbourhood factors. Such findings suggest the need to develop a better proxy of community cohesion and a better understanding of the interactions between people and their neighbourhoods, rather than simply the presence of certain factors. We argue that this study has identified amenable neighbourhood characteristics and highlighted the importance of ‘place-specific’ resilience factors that may be effective in reducing mortality in some neighbourhoods, but be less effective in others. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

gilmour j.a., huntington a., broadbent r., strong a. & hawkins m. (2012) Nurses' use of online health information in medical wards. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(6), 1349-1358. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of a study of nurses' access, use and evaluation of online health information in medical wards. Background. Online health information is commonly used by patients with chronic illness to support their education needs. Nurses have a critical role in assisting patients to access and use this information. Method. This descriptive cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 540 nurses employed in medical wards was carried out in 2009. The response rate was 58·7% (293). The analytical approach included descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests of correlation and differences between groups. A content analysis was performed on the qualitative data. Results. Most respondents (78·6%) were satisfied with work Internet access and 58·2% believed that the use of online information improved care delivery. Nearly half the group was aware of patient misconceptions about their illness due to incorrect interpretations of online information, but only 24·4% checked if patients used online information. There was a significant association between assessing patients use and awareness of patient misconceptions. Conclusion. The findings of this study highlight that while online resources add to education opportunities, the ongoing nursing assessment required to determine online information needs is not always incorporated into nursing practice. Patient misunderstandings of online material were also identified; developing patient competency in evaluating open access health information should now be recognized as an integral aspect of illness management education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to challenge the hypothesis that genetic differences play a significant role in the disparities in health status between Māori and non-Māori. To do so I considered the patterns of these disparities to see if they are consistent with the manifestations of genetic variation. I compared disparities in health between Māori and non-Māori with patterns of disparity across most social sectors (reason one), patterns of disparity across most health indicators (reasons two, three and four) with international experience (reasons five and six) over time (reason seven) and by spatial or kin based clusters (reason eight) over intermarriage (reason nine) and by considering the consensus of modern population genetics (reason ten) and concluded that there appears to be little evidence to suggest genetics to be a major cause of those disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abstinence and responsible drinking are not typically associated with youth drinking culture. Amongst Pacific youth in New Zealand there are high numbers, compared to the general New Zealand population, who choose not to consume alcohol. The Pacific youth population is made up of several ethnic groups; their ethno-cultural values are largely Polynesian and heavily influenced by the socio-economic realities of living in New Zealand. This paper explores factors that support abstinence or responsible drinking amongst Pacific youth living in Auckland. Methods: A qualitative study comprised of a series of ethnically-, age-, and gender-matched semi-structured focus group discussions with 69 Pacific youth, aged 15-25 years from a university and selected high-schools. Participants were purposively sampled. Results: Key cultural factors that contributed to whether Pacific youth participants were abstinent or responsible drinkers were: significant experiences within Pacific family environments (e.g. young person directly links their decision about alcohol consumption to a positive or negative role model); awareness of the belief that their actions as children of Pacific parents affects the reputation and standing of their Pacific family and community (e.g. church); awareness of traditional Pacific values of respect, reciprocity and cultural taboos (e.g. male--female socialising); commitment to no-alcohol teachings of church or religious faith; having peer support and experiences that force them to consider negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption; and personal awareness that being part of an (excessive) drinking culture may seriously affect health or impede career aspirations. Conclusions: The narratives offered by Pacific young people highlighted three key communities of influence: family (immediate and extended, but especially siblings), peers and church. Young people negotiated through these communities of influence their decisions whether to drink alcohol, drink excessively or not at all. For each young person the way in which those three communities came together to support their decisions depended on the specificities of their lived contexts. Pacific young people live lives that share some things in common with other New Zealand youth and others which are more specific to a Pacific ethnic group, especially in relation to the traditional beliefs of their Pacific parents and community. In the development of alcohol harm reduction strategies seeking active Pacific young person and family compliance, it is these "other ethnic things" that requires careful and more qualitative consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a unique survey designed by the authors to compare migrant children who enter New Zealand through a random ballot with children in the home country of Tonga whose families were unsuccessful participants in the same ballots. We find that migration increases height and reduces stunting of infants and toddlers, but also increases BMI and obesity among 3- to 5-yr-olds. These impacts are quite large even though the average migrant household has been in New Zealand for less than 1 yr. Additional results suggest that these impacts occur because of dietary change rather than direct income effects. ( JEL J61, I12, F22) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue addressed: Despite the established risks associated with smoking, 21% of New Zealand adults smoke. Prevalence among Maori (indigenous) and Pacific Island New Zealanders is disproportionately high. Prevention of smoking initiation is a key component of tobacco control. Keeping Kids Smokefree--a quasi-experimental trial--aimed to do this by changing parental smoking behaviour and attitudes. However, little is known about parents' attitudes to smoking in comparison with other concerns. Method: Parents of 4,144 children attending five urban schools in a high smoking prevalence population in Auckland, New Zealand, were asked to rank seven concerns on a paper-based questionnaire, including smoking, alcohol and bullying, from most to least serious. Results: Methamphetamine and other illicit 'hard' drugs were ranked as most serious followed by marijuana smoking, alcohol drinking, bullying, cigarette smoking, sex and obesity. Never smokers ranked cigarette smoking as more serious than current or ex-smokers. Conclusion: Parents' under-estimation of the serious nature of tobacco smoking relative to other drugs could partly explain low participation rates in parent-focused smoking initiation prevention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vision statement of Te Reo o Taranaki, "Tuku reo, tuku mouri: language, culture, crossing generations", embodies the essence of an understanding of mouri which goes beyond the simple dictionary translations of "life force" or "life essence". Indeed, there are numerous oral narratives--whakataukī (proverbs), waiata (songs), haka (dance), karanga (ceremonial call), whaikōrero (formal speech), karakia (prayers and incantations)--from the present day to our earliest records of Māori history that engage the notion of mouri. The purpose of this paper is to examine current understandings of mouri and, by linking the concept with linguistic, cultural and intergenerational terms--as in the Taranaki example--it will be argued that mouri is something of significance to our "being" and to our wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco control (TC) research capacity and productivity are critical for developing evidence-informed interventions that will reduce the harmful effects of smoking. The aim of this paper was to investigate New Zealand's (NZ) TC research capacity along with the quantity and quality of publications, following two government initiatives aimed, in part, at improving the quantity and quality of NZ TC research. Method: Scopus was searched for articles with at least one NZ author and where the topic was of primary relevance to TC. Publications were organized into two time periods, following the government initiatives, 1993–2003 and 2004–2009. We analyzed the number of publications, publication journals, type of publications, impact (using the impact factor), and authorship. Results: There has been an increase in number and impact of publications and number of authors. The number of publications has increased from an average of 14 (1994–2003) to 38 per year (2004–2009). The number of journals published increased from 64 to 86. The impact during 2004–2009 was almost threefold than in 1993–2003. The number of authors increased from 212 to 345, and the number of authors who had at least one first-authored publication increased from 80 to 124. Conclusions: These results show an encouraging trend in NZ TC research, with an increase in research productivity, quality, and in research capacity. It is possible that government-initiated and -funded infrastructural support contributed to increasing needed TC research, which supports the worth of such initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is increasingly acknowledged that the quality of, and/or lack of, exposure data are often a weakness in studies examining links between air quality and health, In this paper we review studies of air pollution and health in Australia and New Zealand and assess the quality of exposure data used. There have been over 80 peer reviewed published studies looking at air quality and health in Australia and New Zealand. Of these, over 30 have looked overtly at health endpoints0 and more than 20 more have referred to health and/or exposure in some way. We conclude that the measures of exposure used in most of these studies are not great indicators of exposure. However, studies in this part of the world are no different to studies around the world where exposure estimates are also often weak. We suggest that as scientists we must acknowledge and accept this weakness while also agreeing that we can and must strive to develop better exposure estimates that account for intra-urban variability in pollution levels, personal mobility, and the importance of micro-environments in personal pollution exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing and midwifery are demanding professions. Efforts to understand the health consequences and workforce needs of these professions are urgently needed. Using a novel electronic approach, the Nurses and Midwives e-cohort Study (NMeS) aims to investigate longitudinally Australian and New Zealand nurses' and midwives' work/life balance and health. This paper describes NMeS participation; provides key baseline demographic, workforce and health indicators; compares these baseline descriptions with external norms; and assesses the feasibility of the electronic approach. From 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008, nurses in Australia and New Zealand, and midwives in Australia were invited to participate. Potential participants were directed to a purpose-built NMeS Internet site, where study information was provided and consent sought. Once obtained, a range of standardized tools combined into one comprehensive electronic questionnaire was elicited. Overall, 7633 (2.3%) eligible nurses and midwives participated (6308 from Australia and 1325 from New Zealand) from a total pool of 334 400. Age, gender, occupational and health profiles were similar between countries and to national figures. However, some differences were noted; for instance, Queensland participants were over-represented, while Victorian and South Australian participants were under-represented, and 28.2% of Australians were in high strain positions compared with 18.8% of New Zealanders. Using an internationally novel web-based approach, a large cohort, which appears generally similar to population norms, has been established. Provided participant retention is adequate, the NMeS will provide insight into understanding the drivers of nurses' and midwives' workforce retention and work-related factors associated with their health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs interview narratives alongside participant-led photography and caption writing to examine the different daily geographies of 15 HIV-positive gay men in Auckland, New Zealand. Difference for these men is rooted in both their HIV status and their sexuality, and this difference has implications for their engagement with the world at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Giving voice to such experiences begins to answer calls for geographers to consider more deeply the connections between health, sexuality and place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines who is Maori, and traditional Maori attitudes to health and children. It notes the differing levels of engagement of Maori with their culture and the reliance of most Maori on Non Maori practitioners for their medical services. Three relatively common paediatric problems are then used to illustrate the challenges of neither underplaying nor overplaying environmental factors in working with Maori families. The key role of the word respect in working towards positive encounters with Maori is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wide array of health policies and initiatives have emerged in New Zealand recently in an attempt to resurrect a presumed 'lost', adventure-loving, physically capable and non-obese Kiwi kid. Chief among these is Mission-On—a 67 million dollar package of 10 initiatives designed to explicitly target the eating and exercise dispositions of young people. I suggest that Mission-On, together with the raft of other avowedly health-promoting resources being directed at young people, provides an exemplary case of body pedagogies at play both via its far-ranging formally enunciated objectives and due to its annexing of these to popular cultures, familial obligations and educational missives. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to examine how pedagogies, like those regularly deployed under the Mission-On rubric, are made sense of by young children. The key habits and dispositions children believe are needed to achieve a healthy 'self' are highlighted, together with some of the ways in which young people come to assess the veracity of health knowledge. Analysis of interviews with New Zealand primary school students suggests that children engage with, enact and disrupt health imperatives in multiple ways, often linked to their differing social and spatial locations in home, school and community contexts. While their testimony points to small fissures in the Mission-On armoury, it is suggested that in a climate so thoroughly saturated with messages around healthy eating and exercise, it remains challenging for children to imagine themselves as the adventurous, confident, fun-loving 'kiwi kids' government desires to 'bring back'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about the economic impact of an ageing population have triggered many developed countries to advance policies that attempt to extend working lives and discourage early retirement. There is considerable evidence of a relationship between poor health and early retirement, but some researchers have suggested that there is a ' justification bias ' in claims that ill-health is the cause of retirement. This paper reports a longitudinal qualitative study that interviewed 60 New Zealanders aged between 55 and 70 years on two occasions, and analysed their explanations of health-related retirement decisions. Although the participants' explanations included poor health as an important reason for retirement, two additional health-related retirement pathways were identified : the 'maximisation of life', being decisions to retire whilst healthy to fulfil other life goals; and ' health protection', being decisions motivated by health protection and promotion. These health pathways interacted with other factors such as financial security. An elucidation of these motivations pays particular attention to the social and discursive context of explanations of retirement, and considers the three identified health-retirement pathways in relation to the sickness justification bias and current government policies to extend working lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aims of this paper are to give a brief overview of world sheep production at present and to describe in detail sheep production and profitability using New Zealand as a case example. Sheep numbers have been declining throughout the world over the last five years, resulting in decreased sheep meat production and a resultant shortage of supply. There is evidence that demand in the short-term will not be met by the major exporters (New Zealand and Australia). Although sheep numbers have declined in New Zealand, production has increased dramatically, with lambing percentages increasing from 98% in 1987 to 125% in 2008 and carcass weights from 14 to 17kg, respectively. Despite this production increase, return on capital in the farming business has been around 1% per annum. However, property values have increased by around 10% offsetting the low return on capital from farming sheep. There are a number of challenges facing New Zealand''s sheep farmers, namely changing land-use patterns, climate change and greenhouse gas mitigation, all of which will potentially impact on future profitability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent studies have discussed the important role of the automobile in shaping contemporary urban social life. This research used a series of focus groups in Auckland, New Zealand, to illuminate the complex social attitudes and values associated with walking as well as driving. While the car is the dominant transport mode in Auckland, the shortcomings as well as the benefits of automobile use and dependence are well known. Moreover, while walking is often difficult in this urban environment, it continues to be perceived as a potentially useful and appropriate means of transport, and as an important and valued social practice. The paper's findings suggest that the positive perceptions of walking, as a facilitator of health and social life, could be built upon by policy-makers to encourage a greater use of this active form of travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]