Improving Māori health could boost Hawke's Bay economy by $120m a year: study
Improving early intervention of serious health conditions among Māori workers in Hawke's Bay could boost the region's economy by about $120 million a year, a new study has found.
The study was commissioned by the Hawke's Bay Regional Economic Development Agency (REDA) to consider the link between Māori wellbeing and

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S.L.U.T.S Might Be The Answer To Ending Syphilis Outbreak
Press Release – Burnett Foundation Aotearoa We hope that by flipping a sex-shaming term on its head, we can celebrate these people as heroes for taking responsibility for combatting our syphilis outbreak, says Burnett Foundation Interim General Manager Alex Anderson. A new public health campaign is reclaiming the terms SLUTS and flipping the narrative on an age-old stigmatising term, by highlighting DoxyPEP (Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) users as superheroes in their communities. The campaign S.L.U.T.S (Sexy Legends Unlikely to Transmit Syphilis) aims to encourage eligible men who have sex with men (MSM) to consider DoxyPEP as a form of preventing syphilis and chlamydia. Burnett Foundation Interim General Manager Alex Anderson says that the rising levels of syphilis have been a sign of concern since before 2020, with MSM having the highest rate of infection. 'DoxyPEP eligibility is pretty strict and limited to those individuals with the highest risk of transmission. This way we can maximise the impact of the drug while minimizing the risks of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacterial STIs,' says Mr. Anderson. Māori and Pacific people are also disproportionately affected by negative health outcomes from syphilis transmission in Aotearoa. The latest data from 2023 indicate that Māori and Pacific people were twice as likely to acquire syphilis compared to people of other ethnicities. DoxyPEP has been studied and proven effective for people assigned male at birth who are having sex with men. 'To make it easier for people to check if it's right for them, we've launched a new eligibility tool on our website, which also includes all the information our communities need to help stop the transmission of syphilis,' says Mr. Anderson. The new campaign features three gay men who become superheroes (S.L.U.T.S) by taking DoxyPEP and protecting their community from STI transmission. 'We hope that by flipping a sex-shaming term on its head, we can celebrate these people as heroes for taking responsibility for combatting our syphilis outbreak,' says Mr. Anderson. Syphilis is a bacterial infection that infects the penis, anus, vagina or throat, and then spreads to different parts of the body through the bloodstream. If left untreated, it can cause damage to the nerves, bones, skin, eyes and brain. You can test for syphilis via a blood test, through your local sexual health clinic, GP, Burnett Foundation clinic, or as part of an STI test kit available through the Burnett Foundation website.


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2 hours ago
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S.L.U.T.S Might Be The Answer To Ending Syphilis Outbreak
A new public health campaign is reclaiming the terms SLUTS and flipping the narrative on an age-old stigmatising term, by highlighting DoxyPEP (Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) users as superheroes in their communities. The campaign S.L.U.T.S (Sexy Legends Unlikely to Transmit Syphilis) aims to encourage eligible men who have sex with men (MSM) to consider DoxyPEP as a form of preventing syphilis and chlamydia. Burnett Foundation Interim General Manager Alex Anderson says that the rising levels of syphilis have been a sign of concern since before 2020, with MSM having the highest rate of infection. 'DoxyPEP eligibility is pretty strict and limited to those individuals with the highest risk of transmission. This way we can maximise the impact of the drug while minimizing the risks of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacterial STIs,' says Mr. Anderson. Māori and Pacific people are also disproportionately affected by negative health outcomes from syphilis transmission in Aotearoa. The latest data from 2023 indicate that Māori and Pacific people were twice as likely to acquire syphilis compared to people of other ethnicities. DoxyPEP has been studied and proven effective for people assigned male at birth who are having sex with men. 'To make it easier for people to check if it's right for them, we've launched a new eligibility tool on our website, which also includes all the information our communities need to help stop the transmission of syphilis,' says Mr. Anderson. The new campaign features three gay men who become superheroes (S.L.U.T.S) by taking DoxyPEP and protecting their community from STI transmission. 'We hope that by flipping a sex-shaming term on its head, we can celebrate these people as heroes for taking responsibility for combatting our syphilis outbreak,' says Mr. Anderson. Syphilis is a bacterial infection that infects the penis, anus, vagina or throat, and then spreads to different parts of the body through the bloodstream. If left untreated, it can cause damage to the nerves, bones, skin, eyes and brain. You can test for syphilis via a blood test, through your local sexual health clinic, GP, Burnett Foundation clinic, or as part of an STI test kit available through the Burnett Foundation website. To find out more about about DoxyPEP visit Supplementary information: S.L.U.T.S launch video: In 2023, MSM represented 59.2% of the 736 cases in Aotearoa. Of all infectious syphilis cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) in 2023, 204 cases (47%) were European/Other, 87 (20%) were Asian, 67 (15%) were Māori, 33 (8%) were Pacific, 33 (8%) were MELAA, and 12 cases were of unknown ethnicity.


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Multiple Sclerosis Prevalence On The Sharp Increase: Study
Press Release – University of Auckland The number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in New Zealand increased by a third between 2006 and 2022, according to research from the University of Auckland. The prevalence of multiple sclerosis in New Zealand has sharply risen since 2006, especially in some communities, according to a University of Auckland study. Lead author Dr Natalia Boven, a postdoctoral fellow from the University's COMPASS Research Centre, says the study found the MS prevalence rate had climbed to 96.6 per 100,000 people as of June 2022, an increase from 72.4 per 100,000 in 2006. 'And notably, while European New Zealanders are being diagnosed with MS at a higher rate (132.4 per 100,000), we found MS increased substantially for Māori, Pacific peoples and Asian ethnic groups over the same period,' she says. Boven says Māori rates rose from 15.0 per 100,000 to 33.1 per 100,000 in 2022, the Pacific rate rose to 9.2 per 100,000 and the Asian ethnic group rate increased to 16.0 per 100,000. 'And of concern is the data shows people living in more deprived areas were less likely to be diagnosed with MS,' says Boven. 'This pattern was more pronounced for Māori and Pacific peoples, which suggests they may face barriers accessing services to receive a MS diagnosis.' As a social scientist, she says more research is needed to find out whether this is the case, and what the barriers might be, as an early diagnosis can make all the difference in terms of delaying disease progression and therefore improving quality of life. Experts agree that multiple sclerosis is a manageable and treatable condition in most cases, especially with early diagnosis. Recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, the study was backed by Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand (MSNZ). National manager Amanda Rose says patients regularly report the biggest barriers to diagnosis are a lack of MS awareness in the community, and critical shortages of specialistservices which can delay diagnosis from a couple of weeks to as long as several years in some instances. 'Too many New Zealanders face delays in being diagnosed with MS due to limited access to specialist neurologist appointments and MRI scans,' says Rose. 'The longstanding shortage of neurologists in Aotearoa has created long waiting lists for many people with neurological conditions, including MS. We've been advocating for over ten years to increase our number of neurologists, with little to no progress.' The study used the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) and included anonymous data from hospitalisations, disability support, pharmaceutical dispensing of MS treatments and needs assessments. To build on the study's findings and support targeted advocacy for those with the condition, Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand has now contracted University researchers at COMPASS to expand their scope. They will again be using IDI data to explore the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of people living with MS in Aotearoa; including geographic distribution, education, income, and employment history, access to disability support, allied healthcare, and income support. Identifying multiple sclerosis in linked administrative health data in Aotearoa New Zealand New Zealand Medical Journal.