A Pragmatic Historical Assessment Tool: A New Systematic Framework for the Collation and Evaluation of Documented Empirical Effectiveness and Safety of Traditional Plant Medicines in the European Materia Medica.

Introduction: Traditional plant medicines (TPMs) are plant-derived therapeutic products prepared and applied according to longstanding medical customs. Around the world they are widely used in primary and preventative health care. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls in its Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 for Member States to provide a regulatory framework so that the formal contribution of traditional therapeutics can be advanced in national systems of health care.

First-in-Human Study with Eight Patients Using an Absorbable Vena Cava Filter for the Prevention of Pulmonary Embolism.

Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the initial human experience with an absorbable vena cava filter designed for transient protection from pulmonary embolism (PE).

Materials And Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm, first-in-human study of 8 patients with elevated risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Seven absorbable IVC filters (made of polydioxanone that breaks down into HO and CO in 6 mo) were placed prophylactically before orthopedic (n = 5) and gynecologic (n = 2) surgeries, and 1 was placed in a case of deep vein thrombosis.

VOICES: South Island pilot survey of bereaved people.

Aims: To test the feasibility of surveying bereaved next-of-kin in the South Island about their perceptions of end-of-life care for people over 18 years of age; to report results; and to identify issues for future research.

Method: The study used the VOICES (Views of Informal Carers Evaluation of Services) questionnaire from the UK, adapted for use in Aotearoa New Zealand. Identification of next-of-kin for all South Island deaths September-November 2017 was undertaken by a commercial firm specialising in such work.

Living well with chronic pain: a classical grounded theory.

There is little theory to explain how and why some people cope well despite chronic pain. This study proposes a mid-level theoretical explanation for those that cope well, shedding light on factors relevant to acceptance. Classical grounded theory methodology was closely followed to generate a theory grounded in data obtained from community-dwelling people self-identified as living well despite chronic pain.

The Prevalence of Body Mass Index-Associated Chronic Diseases in Diverse Ethnic Groups in New Zealand.

The use of universal body mass index (BMI) cutoffs do not take into account variation in the association between BMI and health risk across diverse ethnic groups. We used the New Zealand Health Survey data collected between 2002/2003 and 2014/2015 to calculate the predictive marginal means of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after adjusting for demographic variables and health-related behaviors. Compared with European group, we found that Pacific had a lower prevalence of hypertension at a BMI of ≥35 kg/m, and Māori had a higher prevalence of hypertension, T2DM, and cardiovascular diseases at higher BMI intervals.

"I Want to Walk with My Moko." The Application of Social Cognitive Theory in the Creation of a Diabetes Prevention Documentary with New Zealand Māori.

Type 2 diabetes is almost three times more prevalent in the indigenous people of New Zealand (Māori) than non-Māori. Despite the high rate of diabetes there is a low level of diabetes knowledge and awareness in the Māori community. Several studies of Māori health identify a need for new health communication approaches to diabetes prevention in order to reduce the gap between Māori and non-Māori disease rates.

Office design and health: a systematic review.

Aim: To carry out a systematic review of recent research into the effects of workplace design, comparing individual with shared workspaces, on the health of employees.

Methods: The research question was "Does workplace design (specifically individual offices compared with shared workspaces) affect the health of workers?" A literature search limited to articles published between 2000 and 2017 was undertaken. A systematic review was carried out, and the findings of the reviewed studies grouped into themes according to the primary outcomes measured in the studies.

Applying Community-Based Participatory Research to Create a Diabetes Prevention Documentary with New Zealand Māori.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is almost three times more prevalent in the indigenous people of New Zealand (Māori) than non-Māori. Despite the high rate of diabetes in the Māori population, little is known about their personal understanding or experience of the disease.

Objectives: To engage Māori in a participatory process to develop a culturally relevant diabetes prevention documentary.

Epidemiology of dental caries among adolescents in Tamil Nadu, India.

Objective: Economic and dietary changes in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu have led to compromised oral health status of the adolescent population. Adequate epidemiological data are not available to address the prevention or treatment needs in this region of India. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence and severity of dental caries among adolescents of Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India.

Prepared for what? addressing the disaster readiness gap beyond preparedness for survival.

Background: Conventional disaster preparedness messaging focuses largely on promoting survival actions and communications planning for the immediate post-disaster period. While such preparedness is vital, we have long-observed a gap in preventive medicine and disaster planning for building personal resilience--preventatively--to persevere through prolonged recovery timeframes. There are many helpful attitudes and behaviors that people can develop to increase their readiness and capacity for drastic life changes, encompassing not only health-protective preparedness actions but health-promoting attitudes for "minding the risk" and "practicing resilience" as well.

How and why patients use acupuncture: an interpretive phenomenological study.

Introduction: The usual drivers of health care provision, namely efficacy and cost, might be expected to drive down the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAMs), given the relative paucity of evidence of efficacy for many CAMs. Usage of CAMs remains extensive and little attention has been given to explaining this paradox. This paper explores how patients integrate acupuncture, as a CAMs exemplar, within their personal schemes of health care.

A qualitative systematic review of patients' experiences of acupuncture.

Objectives: To present the results of a systematic review of studies on acupuncture patients' health beliefs and treatment experiences.

Search Strategy: The search was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, and PsychINFO for qualitative and mixed-methods studies expressing the voice of acupuncture patients. Reference lists of relevant articles were also searched.

Building resiliency: a cross-sectional study examining relationships among health-related quality of life, well-being, and disaster preparedness.

Background: Worldwide, disaster exposure and consequences are rising. Disaster risk in New Zealand is amplified by island geography, isolation, and ubiquitous natural hazards. Wellington, the capital city, has vital needs for evacuation preparedness and resilience to the devastating impacts and increasing uncertainties of earthquake and tsunami disasters.

Health informatics community priming in a small nation: the New Zealand experience.

New Zealand (NZ) has a rapidly expanding health information technology (IT) development industry and wide-ranging use of informatics, especially in the primary health sector. The New Zealand government through the National Health IT Board (NHITB) has promised to provide shared care health records of core information for all New Zealanders by 2014. One of the major barriers to improvement in IT use in healthcare is the dearth of trained and interested clinicians, management and technical workforce.

Building an educated health informatics workforce--the New Zealand experience.

New Zealand has a rapidly expanding health information technology (IT) development industry and wide-ranging use of informatics, especially in the primary health sector. The New Zealand government through the National Health IT Board (NHITB) has promised to provide shared care health records of core information for all New Zealanders by 2014. One of the major barriers to improvement in IT use in healthcare is the dearth of trained and interested clinicians, management and technical workforce.

Parental support in neonatal intensive care units: a cross-cultural comparison between New Zealand and Japan.

This is a cross-cultural comparative study involving both quantitative and qualitative data analyses. This study examines sources of parental stress in the two neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) located in New Zealand and Japan and explores how cultural norms of NICU care environments influence parental stress-related experiences and nursing support. The three main sources of data collection were the following: a NICU staff interview, parental interview, and parental questionnaire survey, the PSS: NICU.

Centralized drug review processes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United kingdom.

Many countries have centralized the clinical and economic assessments necessary for evidence-based drug coverage policy. We analyze such processes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. These countries apply comparable approaches to the assessment and appraisal of evidence but apply the processes to different types of drugs and use the reviews within different decision-making contexts.

Prioritisation of elective surgery in New Zealand: The Reliability Study.

Aims: This paper describes the rationale and methodology of a study assessing the reliability of tools for clinical prioritisation (Clinical Priority Assessment Criteria [CPAC]) of patients for elective surgery in New Zealand.

Methods: Surgeons from three specialties (general, vascular, and orthopaedic surgery) completed a computerised evaluation rating clinical vignettes across a range of diagnoses using several priority tools. The study design is described and an outline of the individual tool development and definitions is given.

First-time fathers: perceptions of preparedness for fatherhood.

Little is known about how men prepare to become fathers. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe first-time fathers' perceptions of preparedness for and the transition to parenthood. Nineteen prospective and new fathers participating in 4 focus groups described the unique experiences of men as they prepared to become fathers.