A new study using a large collection of demographic data has revealed the lasting and damaging consequences for children placed in state care between 1950 and 1999 - including huge disparities in life expectancy compared with the general population. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/541049/about-24-years-of-life-lost-people-placed-in-state-care-died-earlier-more-violent-deaths-study-finds
Sally Casswell writes that despite this modest drop in consumption, inequity in the damage from alcohol remains. The Conversation
Professor Chris Wilkins discusses the meth disguised as lollies found in Auckland City Mission food parcels, the shift in where meth in New Zealand is coming from, and the increase in detections of the drug in wastewater testing . TVNZ Breakfast
21 August 2023
The second batch of research bulletins from 2022/23 NZ Drugs Trends Survey (NZDTS) on gangs, social media, darknets and victimization have been released today and can be accessed from this link https://shoreandwhariki.ac.nz/nzdts-research-bulletins-2
23 May 2022
Sally Casswell discusses the issue of how to regulate cross-border alcohol advertising via digital media in an article published in The Conversation today. She describes the emergence of the metaverse, a supersized social media network.
Read more here.
12 May 2022
SHORE & Whariki were commissioned by Fire and Emergency NZ to explore the early experiences of their volunteers and understand the key influences on volunteer engagement and retention. See more information here.
19 Apr 2022
The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs has just published a FastTake by Sally Casswell and Thomas F. Babor on 'The gathering storm: Global alcohol problems and what needs to be done'.
Read more here.
31 Aug 2021
Professor Sally Casswell of the College of Health has recently increased her involvement with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Based at the SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, Professor Casswell directs a WHO Collaborating Centre and has been reappointed several times as a member of the WHO Expert Panel on Alcohol and Drugs.
Now, Professor Casswell has been invited to join the newly established World Health Organization Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). NCDs accounted for 74 per cent of deaths globally in 2019 and have been increasing.
She says while the COVID-19 pandemic has diverted attention, NCDs remain a major source of premature mortality and include the ‘predisposing conditions’ of severe effects of COVID infection.
“I don’t look forward to the late-night Zooms but hope I can contribute in part by increasing attention to the need for good alcohol policy. It is recognised as a risk factor for NCDs but has received limited attention,” Professor Casswell says.
Read more here.
29 Jul 2021
A return to Mexico to get married resulted in a 13-month long stint back home for Auckland-based PhD student Denisse Sanchez Lozano.
While she did manage to tie the knot to husband Gerardo, with New Zealand borders closed, the pair found themselves stuck in Mexico for longer than expected after the wedding. Mrs. Sanchez Lozano says she was thankful that she was able to continue working on her PhD while there, though there were challenges such as not having an office and dealing with the Mexican heat.
Read more here.
27 Jul 2021
A Massey University study will investigate the barriers for disabled young people to participate in sport and active recreation.
Dr Penelope Carroll has been awarded a $1.1 million Project Grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) to lead the study.
Disabled youth are known to have lower physical activity levels and are less likely to be involved in sport than non-disabled peers. However research shows being physically active, and remaining so, are vital for physical and mental health and wellbeing across the life span.
Read more here.
11 Mar 2021
Helen Moewaka Barnes is one of the twenty-seven new Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows and Ngā Ahurei Honore a Te Apārangi Honorary Fellows who have been elected to the Academy of the Royal Society Te Apārangi for their distinction in research and advancement of science, technology or the humanities. They are all exceptional leaders in their communities and their areas of research and scholarship.
Three other Massey staff members have also been elected. Details of the announcement can be found here.
9 Dec 2021
Professor Helen Moewaka Barnes, Te Kapotai, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu, from the SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, received the 2020 Tū Rangatira mō te Ora Award by the Public Health Association of New Zealand. The award recognises outstanding achievement and leadership in Māori public health.
Read more here.
2 Dec 2020
A public health researcher is calling for an urgent overhaul in the way alcohol is sold online.
New research shows that online alcohol delivery services used during the Covid-19 lockdown in March contributed to heavier drinking and buying drinks without ID was easy.
Dr Taisia Huckle is a senior research officer at Massey University.
Listen to the interview here.
25 Sep 2020
New The Conversation piece by Dr Marta Rychert and A/Prof Chris Wilkins applies public health law theory to expand the current debate on cannabis law reform referendum. Researchers discuss state powers to protect public health and the individual’s right to privacy.
Read more here.
23 Sep 2020
Countries with more liberal cannabis laws don't have the problems we do with synthetic cannabinoids, Associate Professor Chris Wilkins says.
Read more here.
14 Sep 2020
New research from the University of Otago shows that the number of people hospitalised in New Zealand because of assaults over the weekend has reduced significantly following 2013 restrictions on late-night alcohol sales, which saw all bars and clubs close at 4am and no takeaway alcohol sales after 11pm. Professor Emerita Jennie Connor from the University of Otago is the lead author of the study.
3 Sep 2020
Leonie Hayden (L), Associate Professor Chris Wilkins, Selah Hart.
The episode covers not only the particulars of what we’re being asked to vote on this October, but the potential implications of either outcome, as well as what our guests see as the most critical downstream factors for consideration should the referendum pass. For Massey University’s SHORE & Whariki Research Centre leader Dr Chris Wilkins, the polarisation of the issue drives home the need to make available clear and impartial information about the bill and referendum.
Read more here.
18 Aug 2020
There are calls for a crackdown to make alcohol harder to buy from off licences after a study released on Tuesday shows New Zealanders are drinking harmful amounts in their homes.
The study is based on a 2011 survey of 2000 Kiwis. The research shows that ahead of last week's alert level changes, spending on alcohol increased by 195 percent and Auckland saw a massive 400 percent increase.
The study's author Taisia Huckle believes that as a result of lockdown harmful drinking at home would be even worse now.
"In a time of lockdown we would expect to see that most, if not all, of the harmful drinking would be in homes," she says.
See more here.
22 Jul 2020
Massey University associate professor Dr Chris Wilkins told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning, while it's a strong bill, there's a range of gaps in the upcoming referendum including the minimum price for the drug and potency.
Click here to watch the video.
3 Jul 2020
Massey University’s SHORE (Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation) & Whariki Research Centre has received funding from the World Health Organization (WHO) to carry out a scoping review on cross-border marketing of alcohol.
Professor Sally Casswell says the initiative is part of the WHO’s decision earlier this year to develop a global action plan on alcohol.
Read more here.