Environmental Health Indicators Newsletter 18
December 2019
Welcome to the Christmas issue of the Environmental Health Indicators (EHI) newsletter.
There have been four major highlights for the EHI Programme since our last newsletter, which are mentioned further in this issue. In October, we held a roadshow at the Ministry of Health. Members of the EHI team presented well-received overviews of their work to about 50 people from across all areas of the Ministry. The EHI website has undergone a major revamp to make access to the data, information and various visualisations more intuitive and accessible. Thirdly, healthspace, our online data visualisation website has been enhanced, brightened and made more user-friendly to address several concerns expressed by our stakeholders and clients. Fourthly, with a grant from the National Hazards Research Platform (NRHP) we have developed a set of social vulnerability indicators which can be used identify geographic areas with people who are more vulnerable to negative impacts of flooding.
On behalf of the EHI team, I wish you and your whānau all the very best for a very happy Christmas and New Year. We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration with you in 2020 and providing data and information on the environmental health of New Zealand
Recent Updates
Active transport to and from school
In 2017/18, less than half of children aged 5-14 years used active transport (such as walking and cycling) to get to and from school. There has been no change in the use of active transport among 5-14-year-olds in over 10 years, from 2006/07 to 2017/18.
For more information, please visit our website.
In 2017, oil was the major type of energy consumed in the domestic transport sector (99.9%)
The domestic transport and the industrial sectors were the main consumers of energy in New Zealand between 1990 and 2017. Together, they contribute to almost three quarters of the total energy consumption.
For more information, please visit our website.
Polio has remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) since first declared in 2014
Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared a PHEIC July 2019. This is the second time WHO has declared Ebola a PHEIC; the first declaration in West Africa lasted from 2014–16.
For more information, please visit our website.
There were 17 interceptions containing mosquitoes of overseas origin in 2018
20 species of high-risk mosquito species of public health concern were caught between 2009-2018. 44% of interceptions of overseas origin originated from the Pacific region, Australia was the most common country of origin.
For more information, please visit our website.
378 people died from melanoma in New Zealand in 2015
In 2015, melanoma mortality rates were higher in males and older age groups, especially in 75+ years. Almost all melanoma deaths were in people of European/Other ethnicity (368 out of 378 deaths, 97%).
For more information, please visit our website.
157 people died from non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in 2015
In 2015, NMSC mortality rates were higher in males, and in older age groups, especially in 85+ years. Almost all NMSC deaths were in people of European/Other ethnicity (153 out of 157 deaths, 97.5%).
For more information, please visit our website.
Health effects from hazardous substances
In 2014–18, the lead notification rate was higher for males than for females, especially for the 25–44 years and 45–64 years age groups.
Hazardous substance notifications significantly increased for children in the five years from 2014 to 2018.
For more information, please visit our website.
New look for healthspace
We are delighted to announce the launch of a major upgrade of healthspace (Puna Ora), our online data visualisation for examining a variety of geographic related health and environmental data. It has now become an integrated component of the EHI Programme and an adjunct to the general EHI website.
We undertook the revamp in response to concerns and suggestions made by our stakeholders and clients over the last few years.
Our overriding aim has been to add value to many existing datasets by turning the data into information that is easily accessed, informative, and relevant. A user can now use interactive dashboards to compare indicators of broad topics such as Environmental Health (Ngā Tūtohu Taiao), and Alcohol-related harm (Pānga waipiro) as well as other indicators of health status between regions and over time.
We encourage you to visit the new healthspace website and are happy to receive any comments and suggestions you have to further enhance the product.
A more widely advertised ‘launch’ of healthspace will occur in late January 2020.
Social vulnerability indicators for flooding
We have recently completed a research project to develop a set of social vulnerability indicators for flooding in New Zealand. These social vulnerability indicators can be used to identify geographic areas with people who are more vulnerable to the negative impacts of floods. In these areas, people may be less able to anticipate, prepare for, cope with, and recover from a flood. While these indicators have been designed for flooding, they may also be useful for other natural hazards and climate change impacts.
You can access the social vulnerability indicator datasets, toolkit for end-users, research report, and other project outputs on our EHI website (www.ehinz.ac.nz/our-projects/social-vulnerability-indicators)
You can also explore online interactive maps of the Porirua area, with the social vulnerability indicators, using the Storymap we developed.
For more information about this project, please contact Kylie Mason or the EHI team.
EHI website update
The EHI website has also recently undergone an update. Our aim was to make the site more user-friendly, easier to navigate and information more accessible.
Publications, conferences and presentations
Roadshow
In October, we held a roadshow at the Ministry of Health. Members of the team presented short overviews of their work. Topics included climate change, the Hazardous Substances Surveillance System and Hazardous Substances Disease & Injury Tool (HSDIRT), alcohol-related harm and the updated healthspace website.
International Society for Environmental Epidemiology conference
Deborah attended the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology conference, Utrecht, The Netherlands from 25-28 August. Utrecht is known for its healthy urban environment and 96% of the population have at least one bicycle. As a result it has parking for more than 20,000 bikes, including the Netherlands’ largest bike parking building which can accommodate 12,500 bikes.
About 1500 people from 66 countries attended the conference. It had a broad meeting theme, ‘On Airs, Waters, Places’, inspired by the 400 BCE Hippocrates’ text of the same title. As a result, the conference highlighted the history and future of environmental epidemiology.
One highlight was a symposium to acknowledge the 50-year career and public health legacy of air epidemiologist, Professor Doug Dockery. His Steubenville study air pollution (JAPCA 1982;32:937-42), showed transient changes in lung function in children exposed to time-varying total suspended particulate levels, which were supposedly safe.
These findings and similar findings by Brunekreef et al in the Netherlands at about the same time led to the setting of the first PM10 standard in the US. Subsequently, there was the pivotal Harvard Six Cities study showing an association between air pollution and mortality in six US cities (NEJM 1993 329:1753-1759); its re-analysis and validation by the Health Effects Institute, its expansion, and intervention studies that have led to the setting and lowering of PM standards globally.
Publications
Russell M, Read D, Cook H. 2019. Firearms and lead. The New Zealand Medical Journal 132 (1496): 69-71.
News from the team
Farewell Rose Mwipiko!
Rose has worked in the EHI team for three years, looking after the Hazardous Substances project. She has recently finished her Master's degree exploring the effects of the built environment on depression in the Wellington Region
We wish her all the best at her new job!
Welcome back Helene Marsters!
Helene has recently returned from her maternity leave.
Welcome Shanika Jayasinghe!
Shanika graduated with a Master of Public Health from Massey University in 2019 and has a background in epidemiology and animal ecology. She joined the team in 2019, working as an analyst.
Congratulations Deborah Read!
Deborah has just been appointed as a member of the Veterans’ Entitlements Appeals Board by the Minister of Defence for a term of two years.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please feel free to email us.
