Issue 325 - 26 June 2025

Welcome to the fortnightly Health Improvement and Innovation Digest. The Digest has links to key evidence of interest, with access to new content arranged by topic.

You can forward this newsletter to others who may be interested in receiving it. They can register and subscribe here. You can also access other recent issues of the digest here.

If you have any queries, please email us at library@health.govt.nz.

Article Access

For articles that aren't open access, contact your Health NZ district library, or organisational or local library for assistance in accessing the full text. If your organisation has a subscription, you may be able to use the icon under full text links in PubMed to access the full article.

Māori Innovation

Worlds Apart, Te Ao Māori and Western Worldviews in Aotearoa, New Zealand
Even though the last war between Tangata Whenua and the Crown ended over 150 years ago, Tiriti obligations and the rights of Tangata Whenua remain largely unaddressed. Significant disparities persist, with limited discourse on effective solutions. The recently introduced Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill highlights enduring challenges in honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This manuscript, published in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, examines Te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview) and Western worldviews in Aotearoa, exploring their profound cultural differences and implications for relationships between Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti.

Health Equity (New Zealand)

Multi-Ethnic, Multisource Grounded Theory: Illustration From a Study Investigating Why Inequities in Survival Occur By Ethnicity
Equity in healthcare is the ideal state where everyone shares equal rights and opportunities. To date, research methodologies are limited in their scope to translate into more equitable healthcare policies and practices. This study, published in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods, presents a re-interpreted grounded theory methodology to contribute to active dialogue toward optimizing equity through research.

Chronic Illness and Matters of Care in Pandemic Times: The Experiences of Women in Aotearoa New Zealand
For many living with chronic illness, COVID-19 is a compounding health crisis. Although a few studies have focused on the experiences of those living with chronic illness, this study, published in Sociology of Health & Illness, is the first to prioritise the voices of women living with chronic illnesses during the pandemic.

'Just get a clearer idea of who I am': LGBTQIA+ people's experiences of abortion care in Aotearoa New Zealand following law reform
Sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) is recognised internationally as a human right, but inequities exist in both access to, and outcomes from, SRH in some populations. LGBTQIA+ people accessing abortion services can have harmful experiences related to embedded norms that construct abortion care as being for cisgender heterosexual women. In Aotearoa New Zealand, legislative reform has decriminalised and liberalised abortion care to improve access and reduce outcome inequities. This study, published in Culture, Health & Sexuality, conducted semi-structured interviews with ten LGBTQIA+ abortion service users, aiming to understand from them what constitutes safe and accessible abortion care, and to examine how well newly reformed abortion services are serving this community.

Insights on wellbeing and society from a Taulasea/traditional healer perspective
Unquestionably there is a need for more Indigenous and traditional knowledge to understand better the link between ‘culture and food systems, diet and traditional practices’ and ‘diet-related diseases’ (e.g. diabetes), particularly from a Pacific worldview. This study, published in Kōtuitui, explored the role of Samoan traditional healers or Taulasea.

Nutrition & Physical Activity (International)

Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 2 to 4 years old
Early childhood presents an important opportunity for obesity prevention, an international public health priority. Interventions aiming to prevent obesity typically promote healthy diets or activity levels (physical activity, sedentary behaviour), or both. There is uncertainty over which approaches are more effective. This aim of this Cochrane Review was to assess the effects of interventions that aimed to prevent obesity in children aged two to four years by changing dietary intake or activity levels, or both, on body mass index (BMI), BMI z‐score (zBMI), BMI percentile, and serious adverse events.

Public Health (International)

How populist-aligned views are reflected in people's accounts of the receipt of public health interventions: a systematic review of qualitative studies
Recent evidence suggests an increasing backlash towards government-led public health interventions in the areas of vaccination, climate change, sexual and reproductive healthcare, and non-pharmaceutical infection control measures. One potential driver of resistance may be the evidenced rise in populist politics and attitudes in many countries over the last two decades. To better understand people's views and perspectives on the relationship between these two phenomena, this review, published in Social Science & Medicine, presents qualitative evidence from a systematic review examining how populist-style attitudes may affect the receipt and impact of public health interventions.

Cancer Services (New Zealand)

The younger women's wellness after cancer program: results from feasibility testing in Aotearoa New Zealand (the 'Kōwhai study')
This paper, published in Supportive Care in Cancer, reports the feasibility testing of the Younger Women's Wellness after Cancer Program in Aotearoa New Zealand (the 'Kōwhai Study') by examining intervention uptake, adherence, and sustainability over time and the feasibility of the proposed trial methods.

Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (New Zealand)

Fanau Manuia programme: key findings from a co-design process using a Pacific family-based approach to address pre-diabetes risk among Pacific children, New Zealand
There is growing evidence that risk factors for pre-diabetes are becoming more prevalent in children, especially among Pacific populations in New Zealand. This research, published in BMJ Public Health, aimed to develop a family-based approach to address pre-diabetes risk in Pacific children.

Primary Health Care (International)

Opportunities, challenges, and requirements for Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation in Primary Health Care (PHC): a systematic review
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly reshaped Primary Health Care (PHC), offering various possibilities and complexities across all functional dimensions. The objective of this review, published in BMC Primary Care, was to synthesise available evidence on the opportunities, challenges, and requirements of AI implementation in PHC based on the Primary Care Evaluation Tool (PCET).

Community care navigation intervention for people who are at risk of unplanned hospital presentations
Care navigation is a type of care co‐ordination used to manage people with chronic conditions with the goal of reducing unplanned hospital presentations and improving patient care and outcomes. The objective of this Cochrane Review was to assess the effects of care navigation, delivered in the community, on hospital presentations and patient‐reported outcome measures in people at risk of unplanned hospital presentations.

Community health navigators in Australian general practice: an implementation study
Patient health navigators have an emerging role in assisting people to connect with health and social care services especially those experiencing language and communication barriers. A challenge with navigator programs is sustaining their implementation. This study, published in the Australian Journal of Primary Health, evaluated the implementation and sustainability of bilingual community navigators (BCNs) in multilingual general practices in Sydney and their impact on patient access.

Exploring Nursing Interventions for Frail Individuals in Primary Care: A Systematic Review
The aim of this review, published in the International Nursing Review, was to report nursing interventions addressing frailty in older adults within primary care settings.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

Urban-rural differences in anxiety and depression in the UK, New Zealand, and Norway
As the global urban population surpasses 50 %, understanding the impact of urban environments on mental health is crucial. This study, published in Journal of Affective Disorders, examines the relationship between urbanicity and the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Norway.

Increased Immunisation (International)

Communication interventions to reduce parental vaccine hesitancy: A systematic review
Vaccine hesitancy among parents and caregivers is a growing issue that can lead to reduced vaccine coverage and corresponding outbreaks of disease. Different interventions to reduce vaccine hesitancy have been developed, including the use of remote online communication that has become more common during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their impacts and effectiveness are unclear. This systematic review, published in Vaccine, aimed to identify effective types of communication that reduce vaccine hesitancy.

Smoking Cessation (New Zealand)

A hopeful journey: responses to efficacy labels from people using RYO tobacco in Aotearoa New Zealand
Although many countries have introduced pictorial warning labels (PWLs), few use efficacy labels or inserts offering supportive cessation advice or outlining benefits of quitting. Theory and evidence suggest efficacy labels foster positive responses to the threats presented rather than elicit maladaptive responses that manage the fear aroused. This study, published in Tobacco Control, explored how people who smoke roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco responded to potential on-pack efficacy labels that could complement PWLs by promoting self-efficacy and response-efficacy.

Vaping cessation strategies and triggers for relapse amongst people from New Zealand who have vaped
In New Zealand (NZ) vapes (e-cigarettes) are a government-endorsed strategy to help people stop smoking, as well as being used recreationally by people who have never smoked. Nicotine vapes are addictive and many users want to quit. This study, published in Drug and Alcohol Review, surveyed current and past users of nicotine vapes to gather insights about their vaping cessation reasons and strategies.

Key Ministry of Health Publications

Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025–2029
The strategic direction for preventing suicide in New Zealand is set by Every Life Matters – He Tapu te Oranga o ia Tangata: Suicide Prevention Strategy 2019-2029. The Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025–2029 is the second Government suicide prevention action plan under the strategy, and it sets out the 21 Health-led actions and 13 cross-agency actions that agencies will undertake from 2025 to 2029 to prevent suicide.

Ministry of Health Consultations & Events

Topical corticosteroids: Proposal for the package labelling to state their potency
Medsafe is seeking your feedback on a proposed advisory statement for topical corticosteroids to include information about the potency (strength) on the container/package label. This consultation closes 28 July 2025.

Proposed updates to the Guideline on the Regulation of Therapeutic Products in New Zealand: Bioequivalence of medicines
This consultation is aimed at pharmaceutical companies seeking to demonstrate bioequivalence of medicines to support applications to Medsafe for regulatory approval of new and changed products. This consultation closes 4th July 2025.

Consultation on the Code of Practice for Non-medical Irradiators: ORS C8 2020
The Director for Radiation Safety (the Director) intends to review the Code of Practice for Non-medical Irradiators: ORS C8 2020 (ORS C8 2020). The review will be conducted in accordance with section 90 of the Radiation Safety Act 2016. The consultation closes 4th July 2025.

Consultation on the Code of Practice for Veterinary Radiation: ORS C9 2020
The Director for Radiation Safety (the Director) intends to review the Code of Practice for Veterinary Radiation: ORS C9 2020 (ORS C9 2020). The review will be conducted in accordance with section 90 of the Radiation Safety Act 2016. This consultation closes 11th July 2025.

Health Sector Initiative

Rural placement pivotal experience for pharmacy student
Started in 2012 by Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty and Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, the Rural Health Interprofessional Programme sees undergraduate students from different health disciplines at several tertiary institutes gaining experience in rural clinical settings.

The information available on or through this newsletter does not represent Ministry of Health policy. It is intended to provide general information to the health sector and the public, and is not intended to address specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity.