Latest Health Headlines
More Support Needed to Reach Those in Need – Heart Kids NZ
Monday, 26 March 2018, 3:30 pm | Heart Kids
Heart Kids NZ says today’s findings from the Liggin’s Institute makes for disturbing but unsurprising reading. More >>
Ladies Luncheon to support inclusion
Monday, 26 March 2018, 1:39 pm | Dementia Auckland
Lifting the stigma around dementia will be one of the main focuses of Dementia Auckland’s inaugural Luxury Ladies Luncheon on April 12th 2018 in Mission Bay. More >>
Group closes on remarkable weight-loss mark
Monday, 26 March 2018, 11:59 am | Buttabean Motivation
Members of a South and West-Auckland-based motivational group for people battling obesity founded by Joseph Parker's former warm-up fighter David Letele are closing in on a combined weight loss of an incredible 100 tonnes – or 100,000 kilograms ... More >>
Fewer Pacific And Māori Babies Survive with Heart Condition
Monday, 26 March 2018, 9:26 am | Auckland University
New research shows the survival rates of babies with a rare but potentially fatal heart defect is lower for Pacific and Māori compared to European babies. Researchers say it is another example of inequity in health outcomes that raises the question ... More >>
Tobacco Industry Turf War Misses the Point
Monday, 26 March 2018, 9:23 am | Hapai Te Hauora
Last week it was revealed that Philip Morris (New Zealand) has taken British American Tobacco (New Zealand) to court. The two tobacco giants are squabbling over alleged anti-competitive behaviour by British American Tobacco in the New Zealand market. ... More >>
How committed are food companies to health?
Monday, 26 March 2018, 8:52 am | University of Auckland
A new study ranking the nutrition commitments of 25 of New Zealand’s largest food companies has found large variations with some companies leading the way, but many are not doing nearly enough to reduce the biggest cause of ill health in New Zealand, ... More >>
Rare disease group calls on Govt to honour election pledge
Sunday, 25 March 2018, 1:49 pm | New Zealand Pompe Network
The New Zealand Pompe Network has called on the new Government to honour its election pledge to establish a separate fund for rare diseases like Pompe Disease. More >>
Choices in First 1,000 Days May Safeguard Health
Sunday, 25 March 2018, 1:13 pm | Early Life Nutrition Coalition
Choices in First 1,000 Days Following Conception May Safeguard Health of Future Generations New Zealand has a unique opportunity to safeguard the health of its future generations according to the founders of the Early Life Nutrition Coalition, speaking ... More >>
Mike King named NZ Communicator of the Year
Friday, 23 March 2018, 3:26 pm | BlacklandPR
Mental health awareness campaigner and New Zealand of the Year finalist Mike King has been named winner of the 2017 Communicator of the Year Award for his ability to communicate directly and openly about mental health. More >>
Raising Kiwi chances of success at the Commonwealth Games
Friday, 23 March 2018, 2:30 pm | Massey University
Sodium bicarbonate, more commonly known as baking soda, is one of the most commonly used performance-enhancing substances by athletes. It is used by those performing repeated high-intensity/ maximal efforts lasting less than one minute (e.g. sprinting ... More >>
Improving Cardiovascular Health a Foot at a Time
Friday, 23 March 2018, 11:12 am | Capital and Coast District Health Board
A new initiative to improve the cardiovascular health of clients at Te Korowai-Whāriki – the regional forensic and rehabilitation inpatient mental health service – has been given a kick-start with the donation of 23 pairs of new running shoes. More >>
Childhood Predictors of Becoming Overweight or Obese
Friday, 23 March 2018, 9:42 am | Otago University
Childhood predictors of becoming overweight or obese as adults in New Zealand include being male, born into a single-parent family, having parents with larger body size and limited or no breastfeeding, new University of Otago research reveals. More >>
NZ part of global exercise explosion
Friday, 23 March 2018, 9:41 am | Make Lemonade
New Zealand is about to see an explosion in the number of people taking up yoga, 24/7 gyms, boutique studios, boot camps and mobile trainers, a leading exercise expert says. More >>
Opposition to Fifth Bottle Store in Takanini Wins
Friday, 23 March 2018, 9:37 am | Auckland Regional Public Health Service
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is pleased with a community win from its opposition to a new off-licence application in South Auckland. More >>
More Sustainable Transport for Better Health in NZ Cities
Friday, 23 March 2018, 9:33 am | Otago University
Can your local council stop you getting heart disease or cancer? Yes, say researchers in a new study led by the University of Otago, Wellington. More >>
Nurses advancing the health of the nation
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 4:04 pm | NZNO
Me haeretahi tātou mō te hauora me te orange o ngā iwi katoa o Aotearoa: Let us journey together for the health and well-being of the people of Aotearoa. More >>
Win prizes at Pasifika with Hearing Therapy
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 3:57 pm | Life Unlimited
The Hearing Therapy team will tempt festival goers with some exciting giveaways at Pasifika Festival this weekend. More >>
Home environment influences rangatahi smoking initiation
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 3:07 pm | Hapai Te Hauora
A recent study has found that exposure to smoking in the home has become more strongly associated with when adolescents start smoking. The study, which was undertaken by Jude Ball and colleagues at Otago University, investigated the influence of peer ... More >>
Erosion of NZ rural services must stop
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 1:27 pm | Make Lemonade
The endless gnawing away at services for rural communities has gone too far, a national rural leader says. More >>
Waikato DHB Responds to SSC Report
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 10:19 am | Waikato District Health Board
Waikato DHB has welcomed the State Services Commission report into unauthorised and unjustified spending by its former chief executive Dr Nigel Murray. You can read the report here http://www.ssc.govt.nz/waikato-dhb-investigation-findings More >>
Promoting smokefree homes may help reduce teen smoking
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 9:51 am | University of Otago
New Zealand children and teens growing up in smokefree homes are less likely to take up smoking, even if their parents are smokers, a University of Otago, Wellington, study has found. More >>
111 Clinical Hub now reducing hospital presentations
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 9:34 am | St John
Improvements to the St John 111 ambulance call system are now fully embedded throughout New Zealand, having been rolled out in the remaining South Island DHB areas at the end of last year. More >>
Philips brings adaptive intelligence to Northland DHB
Wednesday, 21 March 2018, 12:38 pm | Philips
Philips brings adaptive intelligence to Northland DHB, the first user of Illumeo health informatics technology in ANZ and Asia Pacific Northland District Health Board is the first Illumeo site in Australia and New Zealand marking the entry of ... More >>
Lifeline Expands to Offer Text Support for Those in Distress
Wednesday, 21 March 2018, 10:25 am | LifeLine
Today, Lifeline announces the launch of its free text support service – HELP (4357) as part of its suicide prevention strategy to increase access to support for people in distress. More >>
People with Down syndrome making meaningful contributions
Wednesday, 21 March 2018, 10:21 am | IHC
IHC calls for New Zealanders to step up for everyone on World Down Syndrome Day 2018. More >>
New Mental Health Initiative Seeks Participants
Wednesday, 21 March 2018, 9:47 am | Changing Minds
Rākau Roroa is a new and unique initiative that seeks to train and support people to use their personal lived experience of mental distress to create change in their communities, to reduce discrimination and to normalise the experience of mental distress. More >>
Fentanyl Found at New Zealand Festival
Wednesday, 21 March 2018, 9:27 am | KnowYourStuff
Testing by KnowYourStuffNZ, a harm reduction service that provides free drug checking at festivals, has identified a sample containing Fentanyl, a drug which has killed a significant number of people in the United States , United Kingdom , and Canada ... More >>
Worse health outcomes for Pacific women
Tuesday, 20 March 2018, 10:04 am | AUT University
A new study shows that indigenous Fijian women living in New Zealand are not benefitting from the higher level of resources available. In fact, they are worse off in terms of their awareness and practice of family planning. More >>
People with Down Syndrome celebrate World Down Syndrome Day
Monday, 19 March 2018, 1:13 pm | New Zealand Down Syndrome Association
People with Down Syndrome celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by calling for the right to live a happy and healthy life! More >>
Stroke Awareness Week: 3rd-14th April 2018
Monday, 19 March 2018, 12:35 pm | Stroke Central Region Inc
THE BIG BLUE BRUNCH! It’s a simple idea: Groups all over the region will host their own BIG BLUE BRUNCH and invite people from all over the community. This social event is a chance for people from all walks of life to gain some extra knowledge ... More >>
Vitamin D could provide psoriasis relief
Monday, 19 March 2018, 11:45 am | Massey University
New research suggests increasing vitamin D intake could reduce the symptoms of chronic inflammatory skin condition psoriasis. More >>
Raising awareness for allergy-triggered asthma
Monday, 19 March 2018, 9:20 am | Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand
World Allergy Week: Raising awareness for allergy-triggered asthma Organised by the World Allergy Organisation (WAO), World Allergy Week is an annual event set to take place from 22-28 April this year, with the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ focussing ... More >>
Tobacco control policies under the spotlight
Monday, 19 March 2018, 8:40 am | Hapai Te Hauora
The Ministry of Health will be commissioning a review of the impact of tobacco tax increases. This will include specific analysis of the existing policies, their effectiveness for Māori and Pacific people and how tobacco tax correlates with outcomes like crime ... More >>
Babies and Parkinson’s sufferers benefit from $2m gift
Saturday, 17 March 2018, 12:10 pm | University of Auckland
A generous gift of $2 million from the Hugo Charitable Trust has been given to the University of Auckland to conduct research into growth restriction in babies and to help those with Parkinson’s disease. More >>
Fight the Bite
Friday, 16 March 2018, 3:21 pm | Ministry of Health
Fight the bite – day and night. That’s the message the Ministry of Health is promoting to raise more awareness of the diseases mosquitoes in some countries can carry. More >>
Consumers reminded to take care when drinking raw milk
Friday, 16 March 2018, 10:29 am | Ministry For Primary Industries
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is reminding consumers to take care when drinking raw unpasteurised milk as raw milk is a high risk food. More >>
Money Well Spent on Women’s Health in the Sex Trade, or Not?
Friday, 16 March 2018, 9:56 am | Bronwyn Williams
The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC) was founded in 1987, ostensibly to aid New Zealand government efforts to address the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STIs. Since then, the organisation has received ongoing government funding. In 2010, they ... More >>
NZDF Dental Outreach Revives Tuhoe Smiles
Thursday, 15 March 2018, 3:29 pm | New Zealand Defence Force
Residents of a small Bay of Plenty town credit the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) for helping reverse a generation of dental health neglect after about 550 adults were provided dental treatment as part of a two-week exercise. More >>
Deaf people with disabilities navigate three worlds
Thursday, 15 March 2018, 11:32 am | Deaf Action NZ
Deaf people with additional disabilities navigate three different worlds on a daily basis: the Deaf world, the hearing world, and the disability world. Today, Deaf Action NZ released “Inclusive NZSL Communities,” a series of video clips highlighting ... More >>
Bridgestone donates $50,000 to Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ
Wednesday, 14 March 2018, 3:18 pm | Bridgestone
Bridgestone New Zealand has shown its commitment to its new charity partner, Leukaemia & Blood Cancer (LBC) New Zealand, with the first significant contribution from its ‘Brighten Your Wheels’ campaign. More >>
Tobacco sticks claims of reduced harm questioned
Wednesday, 14 March 2018, 1:10 pm | Science Media Centre
New US research finds that iQOS heat stick devices become hot enough to char tobacco and melt plastic, releasing toxic chemicals and increasing the amount of nicotine inhaled. More >>
Survey launched about epilepsy services
Wednesday, 14 March 2018, 11:31 am | Ministry of Health
New Zealanders with epilepsy and people supporting them have been invited to have their say on which health services work well and what can be improved. More >>
Otago researchers call for more in fight against tobacco
Wednesday, 14 March 2018, 9:16 am | University of Otago
Standardised packaging a good move, but Otago researchers call for more in fight against tobacco More >>
Another measles case in Auckland: Call for vigilance
Tuesday, 13 March 2018, 2:40 pm | Auckland Regional Public Health Service
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) has confirmed a second case of measles. It is likely this person has caught the disease on flight SQ285 which landed in Auckland on 22 February 2018. More >>
Mind Over Matter
Tuesday, 13 March 2018, 11:01 am | New Zealand Amateur Sport Association
Last week, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario enacted a new law concerning concussion safety for organisations engaged in amateur competitive sport. More >>
Traumatic brain injury an increasingly “hidden” threat
Monday, 12 March 2018, 9:30 am | Laura Ferguson Trust
The Laura Ferguson Trust is urging New Zealanders, particularly children and adolescents, who have experienced any head trauma to immediately seek advice from their GP to assess if they have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). More >>
Suspected case of Meningococcal Disease prompts reminder
Sunday, 11 March 2018, 1:37 pm | Taranaki DHB
A suspected case of Meningococcal Disease in New Plymouth has prompted a reminder from Taranaki DHB Medical Officer of Health, Dr Greg Simmons for our community to be vigilant for signs and symptoms of the disease. More >>
Coast pertussis cases on the rise
Friday, 9 March 2018, 4:24 pm | West Coast DHB
Coast pertussis cases on the rise Pregnant women and babies under one need to be vaccinated against pertussis (whooping cough), Medical Officer of Health Dr Cheryl Brunton says. “There is a national epidemic of pertussis and the number of cases ... More >>
Smoking cessation interventions needed among Māori
Friday, 9 March 2018, 1:16 pm | Hapai Te Hauora
A recent study has sought to understand smoking trends among nurses and doctors in New Zealand and has identified disparities between Māori and non-Māori healthcare workers. The Otago University study, led by Dr Richard Edwards and colleagues, found ... More >>
Smokefree 2025 goal can be achieved
Friday, 9 March 2018, 8:55 am | University of Otago
A new study on smoking trends among doctors and nurses in New Zealand finds smoking has declined steadily within these healthcare professions. Researchers say this shows that very low smoking rates can be achieved in large occupational groups, suggesting ... More >>
Taking the fight to dementia
Thursday, 8 March 2018, 2:10 pm | Public Trust
Currently more than 60,000 New Zealanders have dementia, with the figure expected to grow to 170,000 and cost the economy more than $4.5 billion by 2050. More >>
International Women’s Day “Support our Midwives"
Thursday, 8 March 2018, 1:38 pm | NZ College Of Midwives
8 March: International Women’s Day “Support our Midwives, Women and Babies” Women and midwives have come together on International Women’s Day in a series of video clips to highlight the issues facing the midwifery-led maternity system ... More >>
Feedback helps mental health services plan
Thursday, 8 March 2018, 1:30 pm | West Coast DHB
Feedback from people with experience of mental health or addictions is helping redesign local mental health services. More >>
Revolutionary Diabetes Sensing Technology
Thursday, 8 March 2018, 11:30 am | Abbott
Freestyle® Libre gains expanded indication for people (age 4 to 17 years) with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in New Zealand system measures glucose levels through small sensor on the back of the upper arm for up to 14 days, requiring no routine ... More >>
Calling on Sustainable Funding for Cochlear Implants
Wednesday, 7 March 2018, 2:43 pm | Pindrop Foundation
Hearing Week 2018 is here and what a time to celebrate the power of cochlear implants to change lives for the better. But we need help to change more lives for the better, and the Pindrop Foundation is calling on sustainable funding for the New Zealand ... More >>
Surgical teams hone their skills with cutting edge training
Wednesday, 7 March 2018, 11:23 am | Capital and Coast District Health Board
Surgical teams are being put through their paces in new training that challenges them to improve their communication and teamwork. More >>
NZMA disappointed in position on alternative medicines
Tuesday, 6 March 2018, 6:25 pm | NZMA
The New Zealand Medical Association is disappointed that the Pharmacy Council has weakened its stand on selling non-evidence based products. More >>
Warnings Regarding Energy Drinks and Exercise
Tuesday, 6 March 2018, 11:42 am | New Zealand Register of Exercise Professionals
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has recently released a statement detailing the effects of energy drinks, with their guidelines for safe usage, and warnings for vulnerable populations, including children. More >>
Bug could invade New Zealand homes
Tuesday, 6 March 2018, 11:02 am | Bio Protection Research Centre
New Zealand’s homes, not just its horticulture and viticulture industries, could be at risk if the brown marmorated stink bug establishes in this country, a scientist has warned. More >>
How can we promote safe practices in unregulated industry?
Tuesday, 6 March 2018, 10:49 am | Skills Active
In 2017, there were 52,964 ACC claims for gym-related injuries in New Zealand – more than doubling the 17,694 claims made in 2011. Despite a 50% increase in gym users over that time, the injury rate is moving faster. In an unregulated industry, ... More >>
