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Health Equity (New Zealand)
Health Equity (International)
Challenges and strategies for promoting health equity in virtual care: findings and policy directions from a scoping review of reviews
This scoping review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, sought to understand and synthesize review-level evidence on the challenges associated with accessibility of virtual care among underserved population groups and to identify strategies that can improve access to, uptake of, and engagement with virtual care for these populations. Barriers, frameworks, and mitigating strategies influencing the dissemination and implementation of health promotion interventions in indigenous communities: a scoping review
Many Indigenous communities across the USA and Canada experience a disproportionate burden of health disparities. Effective programs and interventions are essential to build protective skills for different age groups to improve health outcomes. Understanding the relevant barriers and facilitators to the successful dissemination, implementation, and retention of evidence-based interventions and/or evidence-informed programs in Indigenous communities can help guide their dissemination. The aim of this scoping review, published in Implementation Science, was to identify common barriers to dissemination and implementation (D&I) and effective mitigating frameworks and strategies used to successfully disseminate and implement evidence-based interventions and/or evidence-informed programs in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NH/PI), and
Canadian Indigenous communities.
Hospital Productivity (International)
Discharge planning from hospital
Discharge planning is a routine feature of health systems in many countries that aims to reduce delayed discharge from hospital, and improve the co‐ordination of services following discharge from hospital and reduce the risk of hospital readmission. The objective of this Cochrane Review was to assess the effectiveness of planning the discharge of individual patients moving from hospital.
Cancer Services (New Zealand)
Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (International)
Effects of a gluten‐reduced or gluten‐free diet for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major cause of disability and the leading cause of death worldwide. To reduce mortality and morbidity, prevention strategies such as following an optimal diet are crucial. In recent years, low‐gluten and gluten‐free diets have gained strong popularity in the general population. However, study results on the benefits of a gluten‐reduced or gluten‐free diet are conflicting, and it is unclear whether a gluten‐reduced diet has an effect on the primary prevention of CVD. The objective of this Cochrane Review was to determine the effects of a gluten‐reduced or gluten‐free diet for the primary prevention of CVD in the general population.
Primary Health Care (New Zealand)
Weight Management (New Zealand)
Relationships between physical function, body composition and metabolic health in Pacific Island youth
The Pacific Islands Families (PIF) study is a birth cohort study designed to increase knowledge about the growth and development of Pacific children living in Auckland, New Zealand. Adolescence is a critical time of growth and development, yet the roles of physical function and body composition in metabolic health at this life stage are not clear. This study, published in PloS One, aimed to investigate associations between measures of physical function (the 6-minute-walk-test (6MWT)), heart rate changes before and after the 6MWT, handgrip strength, body composition including appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and biomarkers of metabolic health from a fasting blood sample.
Weight Management (International)
Disability Services (International)
Key Ministry of Health Publications
Ministry of Health Consultations & Events
Proposed warning and advisory statement relating to the harm of opioid abuse, misuse, and dependence
This Medsafe consultation proposes a new warning and advisory statement for the opioid class of medicines. The statement would be included in the Label Statements Database (LSD), which lists the warning and advisory statements that are required on medicines and related products package labels. This consultation closes on the 4th of April 2022. ACT-NOW Data Standard
The Anti-Cancer Therapy – Nationally Organised Workstreams (ACT-NOW) programme was launched in 2018 with the aim to develop a detailed database of information on patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy across New Zealand. ACT-NOW engages with the medical oncology, haematology, pharmacist and nursing communities to identify and reduce variation, enhance equity of access and support resource planning. The first phase of the ACT-NOW project requires the development of national data and regimen definitions to create a solid foundation for the subsequent capture of meaningful and comparable data at the national level. This consultation closes on the 31st of March 2022.
District Health Board Initiative
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.
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