Publications by authors named "Michael Gary Nicholls"
Radical market-oriented health reforms in New Zealand in the early 1990s failed to deliver key financial targets, resulted in unnecessary patient deaths, adversely affected public healthcare services, induced serious tensions between clinicians and managers and encouraged a predisposition to private healthcare. A more co-operative health system was implemented in the late 1990s but remaining problems of inadequate patient access led to establishment of a charity hospital in Christchurch which, by November 2018, had registered over 18 000 patient visits. This is one indication of the need to resurrect our public healthcare system.
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- Consanguineous marriages can have harmful genetic effects due to the homozygosity of detrimental genes, but they may also enhance survival against malaria by increasing the prevalence of certain protective genetic traits.
- The four main genetic conditions associated with malaria resistance—alpha-thalassemia, G6PD deficiency, hemoglobin C, and Duffy antigen negative red blood cells—could see improved survival rates due to inbreeding in malaria-prone areas.
- Evidence suggests a correlation between the locations of malaria, protective genetic traits, and consanguineous marriage practices, supporting the idea that these cultural practices and genetic traits have evolved together to improve survival against malaria.