The New Zealand medical journal
-
The impact of pandemic influenza on the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in 1918-19 has never been studied using modern epidemiological methods. Therefore we analysed mortality and descriptive data from various sources for these military personnel. An estimated 930 NZEF personnel deaths from pandemic influenza occurred in 1918-19, making it the main cause of disease deaths, and representing 5.1% of all NZEF deaths from World War One (WW1). ⋯ Mortality rates varied markedly by setting (e.g. in military camps, by country and by hemisphere). Significantly higher mortality rates were found amongst NZEF personnel: aged 30-34 years, those of Maori ethnicity, those with a rural background, and those who left New Zealand for Europe in 1918. In conclusion, this work documents the heavy mortality burden from pandemic influenza amongst this national military force and highlights the large variations in mortality rates through host and environmental factors.
-
To investigate the views of medical students early in their clinical training and their clinical teachers with respect to Māori health teaching and learning. ⋯ The findings of this study raise concerns about the extent to which medical students are supported to achieve Hauora Māori learning outcomes. The consistency between medical student and clinical teacher findings points to systemic issues, and the solutions are likely to be multi-layered. At the institutional level, Māori health needs to be consistently presented as a legitimate and critical area of medical education. At the educational level, it is important that all teachers are supported to provide high quality teaching, learning and assessment of Hauora Māori across the curriculum.