Course organiser:Jill Nuthall
Presenter:Various
This course tells us about the sterling work that is being done to create living and working
conditions that keep New Zealanders well. We go behind the scenes to hear from experts
in stopping diseases spreading, improving environments such as housing, urban planning
and transport as well as how moving to a wellbeing budget will improve the health of our
nation.
11 Apr:
Dr. Fran McGrath Chief Advisor, Long Term Conditions/NCDs, Population Health and Prevention, Ministry of Health on 'What’s happening to improve Public Health in New Zealand?'.We'll have a look at the origins of public health in stopping the many deaths from outbreaks like Cholera, and Swine 'flu - hear the story of John Snow and the London Broad Street Pump - then consider today's challenges for public health in New Zealand and ways of understanding effective prevention. We will look at frameworks for understanding underlying risk factors in our communities and society (such as income distribution, housing), behavioural risk and protective factors in the way we live (healthy diet, exercise, social networks) and ways of improving our wellbeing.
18 Apr:
Dr. Lucy Telfar Barnard, Senior Research Fellow, He Kainga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme, Department of Public Health, Otago School of Medicine on 'Warm, Dry, Safe: What’s Next for Healthier Homes?'Many of the adverse health effects of poor housing are known, while others continue to be identified. Our hospitals see over 40,000 people each year for conditions linked to poor housing. In recent decades New Zealand has seen a range of programmes and policy changes introduced to make our homes warmer and dryer, but do those changes go far enough? What more could we be doing and what should our priorities be to further reduce the health burden of poor housing?
2 May:
Dr. Martin Lee, Clinical Director, Community Dental Services, CDHB on 'Fluoridation: Why all the Hoo-ha Still?'First introduced in 1945, and listed as one of the 10 great public health discoveries of the 20th Century by the US Surgeon General, water fluoridation continues to be contentious. Have we learnt anything in the last (nearly) three-quarters of a century?
9 May:
Prof. Paul Dalziel, Professor of Economics and Deputy Director of the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit, Lincoln University on 'Wellbeing: The Capabilities Approach to Public Health.'The Government has adopted a wellbeing framework for its policies, including the Wellbeing Budget. What does this mean for public health policy? How does a focus on capabilities improve health and wellbeing outcomes? What is different from traditional approaches to public health?
16 May:
Dr. Anna Stevenson, Public Health Physician, Health in all Policies Team, Community and Public Health, CDHB on 'Building for Health: What Difference can Transport and Urban Design Actually Make?'Why is it that transport and urban design can impact so strongly on the biggest threats to public health and community wellbeing we face today? Hear examples of how changes to the environments in which we live and the way we live within these environments impacts the health and wellbeing of our communities. Learn about the challenges and successes along the way that bring our non-traditional partners to be part of the solution.