Department of Public Health

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Public Health is the art and science of preventing disease and injury, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society.

Collections in Department of Public Health

Recent Deposits

Observations, and the cost-effectiveness, of sun protection in schools

Gage, Ryan (Thesis, Master of Public Health, 2017)

Background: New Zealand (NZ) has the highest incidence rate of melanoma skin cancer in the world. Although most cases of melanoma, and other skin cancers, can be prevented by reducing sunlight exposure, sun-safety ...
E te tākuta, kei a koe te tikanga - A qualitative study of factors influencing treatment decision-making in cancer consultations with Māori patients and whānau

Stairmand, Jeannine Louise (Thesis, Master of Public Health, 2017)

Aim This research explores factors influencing treatment decision-making in cancer consultations with Māori patients and whānau (extended families) to ascertain if any of these factors could be contributing to cancer ...
Supported self-management: a novel cancer survivorship care pathway

O'Brien, Inga (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2017)

Introduction: More people are living with, through and beyond cancer which makes cancer survivorship an increasingly important area of public health focus. Cancer survivors manage cancer and treatment-related health impacts ...
The Organizational Sustainability of Pacific Mental Health Services in New Zealand: What Influences Success?

Currey, Nandika (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2017)

INTRODUCTION The growing burden of mental disorders in New Zealand as elsewhere is of particular concern to the health sector. In New Zealand, the over-representation of Pacific people in mental health statistics led to ...
Achieving Equitable Asthma Services for Māori

Jones, Bernadette Doris (Thesis, Master of Public Health, 2017)

Introduction: Significant inequities exist in Aotearoa New Zealand for tamariki (children) Māori with asthma, who suffer a high burden of disease and high hospital admission rates, as compared to non-Māori. Primary ...
Child exposure to second-hand smoke within "private spaces"- Comparing survey data with photographic evidence

Gurtner, Marcus (Thesis, Master of Public Health, 2016)

ABSTRACT There is a restricted range of non-survey research on child exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) within ‘private’ spaces - i.e. homes (inside and outside) and personal vehicles. The available evidence has typically ...
Behind the front desk: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the talk of General Practice Receptionists about health inequities

Manhire-Heath, Rowan Kathleen (Thesis, Master of Public Health, 2016)

General Practice Receptionists (GPRs) are an under-researched and undervalued group of healthcare workers, both in Aotearoa/New Zealand and internationally, evidenced by the limited data on—and research involving—GPRs. As ...
Does the sport-related food environment support children's right to health?

Smith, Moira Beatrice (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

Under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), children have the right to health and live in conditions that support that right, including a healthy food environment. However, a substantial proportion of the ...
Making sense of Stomach cancer Inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand

Signal, Virginia Claire (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

Background Stomach cancer is an important disease for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. Māori are more likely to be diagnosed with stomach cancer than non-Māori and have poorer survival. The higher incidence in Māori can ...
Do young adults make informed choices about smoking?

Gray, Rebecca Jane (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

When lobbying against tobacco control policies, tobacco companies have claimed that people who smoke make an “informed adult choice”. Although in the past most smokers were children when they started to smoke, in recent ...
Individual and collective action for healthy rental housing in New Zealand: an historical and contemporary study

Chisholm, Elinor (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

Substandard, insecure, and unaffordable housing affects health, contributing to the spread of infectious disease, susceptibility to respiratory illness, and to feelings of stress and anxiety. In New Zealand, people who ...
Children, Social Media, and the Trouble with “Bullying”: A Child-Centred Investigation of Definitions

Canty, Justin Blade (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

Bullying troubles parents, teachers, and children themselves. The emergence of bullying in children’s use of social media, often referred to as cyberbullying, has heightened concern for children’s social and emotional ...
Cancer in the Context of Severe Mental Illness in New Zealand: An Epidemiological Study

Cunningham, Ruth (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

Background Experience of severe mental illness is associated with poor physical health and premature death. This issue has received little research attention in New Zealand. This thesis explores the burden of cancer amongst ...
An investigation into the Murihiku toheroa (paphies ventricosa) : matauranga, monitoring and management

Futter, Julie M. (Thesis, Master of Science, 2011)

The value of traditional ecological knowledge and associated traditional practices, or matauranga and tikanga in the New Zealand Maori context, is playing an increasingly important role in the development of effective ...
Known unknowns: Evidence of health co-benefits of decarbonising the transport sector

Shaw, Caroline (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

Theory and modelling studies suggest that some interventions to decarbonise emissions in the transport sector can, in addition to the long-term benefits from contributing to stabilising the global climate, have substantial ...
Population dynamics of the New Zealand southern right whale (Eubalaena australis)

Davidson, Anthony (Thesis, Master of Science, 2016)

The southern right whale (SRW; Eubalaena australis), was nearly extirpated from New Zealand (NZ) waters by commercial whaling in the nineteenth century. The NZ population is thought to be recovering, but precision of the ...
The Settlement Experiences of Kiribati Migrants Living in New Zealand

Thompson, Mary Anne (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016)

This thesis explores the settlement experiences of Kiribati migrants and their families living in New Zealand. In depth qualitative interviews were carried out with a group of Kiribati migrants to elicit data on the main ...
Casting a long shadow: the role of household crowding on Helicobacter pylori infection, and excess stomach cancer incidence among Māori and Pacific people

McDonald, Andrea M. (Thesis, Master of Public Health, 2014)

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is predominantly acquired in childhood and persists as a chronic infection in the stomach. H. pylori has been linked with household crowding and is an important causal factor ...
Ethnic equity in the management of child asthma: Developing and testing a primary care quality improvement tool.

Keating, Gabrielle Mary (Thesis, Master of Public Health, 2015)

Two of the key challenges for the New Zealand health system are improving quality and reducing inequities in health. My plan was to develop and test a quality improvement intervention for primary care to help close the ...
Statistical and Policy Analysis of Large-scale Public Health Interventions

Preval, Nicholas (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015)

Background: The outcome evaluation of large-scale public health interventions is an important part of the rational policy cycle. Timely outcome evaluation can inform decisions by policy makers on whether to continue, modify ...