The New Zealand medical journal
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The concept of 'health equity' has become increasingly central to discussions around social determinants of health, and the resultant disparities in health outcomes. It has particular pertinence to paediatric populations in New Zealand: some of our most alarming disparities relate to child health, and there is increasing recognition of the need to reduce these inequities. Effective 'health equity' approaches in child health demand that clinicians broaden their roles to become strong advocates for social justice: in order to achieve progress in this area, it is essential that child health is prioritised at our most fundamental policy levels.
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Comparative Study
Deaths and hospital admissions as a result of home injuries among young and middle-aged New Zealand adults.
New Zealand lacks a comprehensive national profile of home injuries, this information is necessary to develop effective targeted injury prevention initiatives. This study describes the epidemiology of unintentional home injuries resulting in death or admission to hospital among young and middle-age New Zealanders. ⋯ Poisonings and falls are the leading causes of unintentional home injury death among young and middle-aged New Zealanders. In addition, falls are a significant contributor to home injury resulting in admission to hospital. The large numbers of home injuries occurring each year in New Zealand, mean that even moderately successful injury prevention interventions could have large impacts at the population level.
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Median sternotomy wounds are formed following most cardiac surgery. These wounds may heal with problematic scars. We hypothesise that midline sternotomy scars will scar poorly in general and in comparison with control scarring from other sites. ⋯ Our study shows that median sternotomy scarring can be problematic with 1 in 5 patients symptomatic and 1 in 10 patients developing hypertrophic scarring. Thus, this predominantly Caucasion population has a low but significant rate of scar problems in comparison to median sternotomy scarring in other populations. We could not identify patient factors which were predictive for poor scarring but anatomical location may be a key factor. Overall, we believe that median sternotomy patients should be offered preventative treatment to ensure the best scar outcome.
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Comparative Study
Over-the-counter codeine analgesic misuse and harm: characteristics of cases in Australia and New Zealand.
To describe the characteristics of clients addicted to over-the-counter (OTC) codeine analgesics presenting to an Auckland open-access clinic, and to compare them to clients admitted to a New Zealand detoxification unit, and in the Australian community. ⋯ This study has identified that controls on OTC codeine analgesics in both countries were not sufficient to limit non-medical use of these products. As a result, cases identified in these two countries escalated the number of self-administered tablets taken daily for misuse, resulting in codeine dependence and serious NSAID toxicity secondary to this dependence.