School of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/10764
The School of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies research institutes and centres play an important role in specialist teaching and research conducted by academic staff and postgraduate students. This places AUT students at the forefront of much of the ground-breaking research undertaken in New Zealand in the field of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling, and Public Health.

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Browsing School of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies by Subject "06 Biological Sciences"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Exploring Factors That Influence Vaccination Uptake for Children with Refugee Backgrounds: An Interpretive Description Study of Primary Healthcare Providers’ Perspectives
    (Elsevier, 2023-10-04) Cavit, Larisa; Charania, Nadia
    Background Children with refugee backgrounds are at high risk of acquiring vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) due to a complex set of factors, one being under-immunisation. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), reported age-appropriate vaccination rates are suboptimal among children with refugee backgrounds. Methods A qualitative interpretive description study was undertaken to explore factors associated with access and uptake of immunisations and develop strategies to improve age-appropriate vaccinations among refugee children post-resettlement in NZ. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare providers (nurses and doctors) (N = 14) across seven resettlement locations in NZ. Collected data was transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results Five themes were derived from the data that demonstrate the interrelated factors that influence vaccination uptake across the refugee caregiver, health provider and system levels. Providers discussed how caregivers’ competing resettlement priorities and challenges early in the resettlement phase influenced their knowledge and access of vaccines and health services in NZ. Providers’ knowledge of refugee caregivers’ concerns was seen as a driver for positive change in forming therapeutic relationships with, and delivering health services to, former refugees. They discussed system level factors that influence access to and provision of immunisation services, such as resourcing, resettlement policies, system inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Emphasis was placed on communication between patients and providers to facilitate positive immunisation experiences. Overwhelming, providers displayed high motivation to improve immunisation services. Strategies were suggested to overcome identified barriers and included the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources, education campaigns, reducing access barriers (e.g., after-hours clinics), and improving system efficiencies. Conclusions These findings highlight root factors that impact immunisation uptake and experiences among children with refugee backgrounds. To reduce the burden of VPDs, broad system level changes are required to address the barriers to vaccine uptake faced by both families of refugee backgrounds and health providers.
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    Short-Term Passive Greenspace Exposures Have Little Effect on Nasal Microbiomes: A Cross-Over Exposure Study of a Māori Cohort
    (Elsevier, 2024-03-28) Brame, Joel E; Warbrick, Isaac; Heke, Deborah; Liddicoat, Craig; Breed, Martin F
    Indigenous health interventions have emerged in New Zealand aimed at increasing people's interactions with and exposure to macro and microbial diversity. Urban greenspaces provide opportunities for people to gain such exposures. However, the dynamics and pathways of microbial transfer from natural environments onto a person remain poorly understood. Here, we analysed bacterial 16S rRNA amplicons in air samples (n = 7) and pre- and post-exposure nasal samples (n = 238) from 35 participants who had 30-min exposures in an outdoor park. The participants were organised into two groups: over eight days each group had two outdoor park exposures and two indoor office exposures, with a cross-over study design and washout days between exposure days. We investigated the effects of participant group, location (outdoor park vs. indoor office), and exposures (pre vs. post) on the nasal bacterial community composition and three key suspected health-associated bacterial indicators (alpha diversity, generic diversity of Gammaproteobacteria, and read abundances of butyrate-producing bacteria). The participants had distinct nasal bacterial communities, but these communities did not display notable shifts in composition following exposures. The community composition and key health bacterial indicators were stable throughout the trial period, with no clear or consistent effects of group, location, or exposure. We conclude that 30-min exposure periods to urban greenspaces are unlikely to create notable changes in the nasal microbiome of visitors, which contrasts with previous research. Our results suggest that longer exposures or activities that involves closer interaction with microbial rich ecological components (e.g., soil) are required for greenspace exposures to result in noteworthy changes in the nasal microbiome.
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