Mandatory fortification with folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects: a case study of Australia and New Zealand.

Purpose: To present a case study of the considerations of mandatory fortification with folic acid in Australia and New Zealand.

Methods: Review of published reports and consumer advocacy views.

Results: Australia and New Zealand jointly approved mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid to prevent neural tube defects in 2007.

A New Zealand regional work-related sprains and strains surveillance, management and prevention programme: study protocol.

Background: The impact and costs associated with work-related sprains and strains in New Zealand and globally are substantial and a major occupational and public health burden. In New Zealand around one-third of all sprains and strains workers compensation (ACC) claims (2019) are for back injuries, but shoulder and arm injuries are increasing at a faster rate than other sprain and strain injuries (ACC, 2020). A need exists for a change to current approaches to sprains and strains prevention, to more effectively manage this significant and persistent problem in workplaces.

Environmental Health Intelligence New Zealand (EHINZ): intelligence for public health action.

The New Zealand health system is data-rich, information-poor, and intelligence meagre. However, there is widespread confusion about the definitions of these terms, so they are often used synonymously. Like many jurisdictions, we continue to collect and collate vast quantities of data at an increasing rate.

Did new treatments contribute to a decrease in melanoma deaths?

Melanoma is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in New Zealand, and New Zealand has one of the highest rates of melanoma incidence and mortality in the world. Monitoring by Environmental Health Intelligence NZ (EHINZ) has found a recent sharp decline in melanoma mortality rates in New Zealand. Since 2014 and 2015 (with 376 and 378 melanoma deaths, respectively), melanoma deaths have declined to 362 deaths in 2016, 308 deaths in 2017, and 296 deaths in 2018.

Assessing youth empowerment and co-design to advance Pasifika health: a qualitative research study in New Zealand.

Objectives: The Pasifika Prediabetes Youth Empowerment Programme (PPYEP) was a community-based research project that aimed to investigate empowerment and co-design modules to build the capacity of Pasifika youth to develop community interventions for preventing prediabetes.

Methods: This paper reports findings from a formative evaluation process of the programme using thematic analysis. It emphasises the adoption, perceptions and application of empowerment and co-design based on the youth and community providers' experiences.