Public Health
Volume 120, Issue 4 , Pages 283-289, April 2006

Conceptions and uses of public health ideas by New Zealand government policymakers: report on a five-agency survey

  • R. Gauld

      Affiliations

    • Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, P.O. Box 913, New Zealand
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +64 3 479 8632; fax: +64 3 479 7298.
    • ,
  • A. Bloomfield

      Affiliations

    • Public Health Directorate, Ministry of Health, Wellington, New Zealand
    • ,
  • C. Kiro

      Affiliations

    • Office of the Commissioner for Children, Wellington, New Zealand
    • ,
  • J. Lavis

      Affiliations

    • McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada
    • ,
  • S. Ross

      Affiliations

    • McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada

Received 8 November 2004; received in revised form 8 June 2005; accepted 13 October 2005.

Summary 

Objectives

This article describes New Zealand government policymakers' awareness of, attitudes toward and self-reported use of ideas about the determinants of health. Some comparison with an earlier Canadian study is provided.

Methods

Employees with policymaking and advisory responsibilities in government departments of health, social development, housing, education and finance were surveyed.

Results

More than half of the respondents (58%) were familiar with ideas about health determinants. Eighty percent felt that health determinants should be considered in all government policy, but that more practical information on effective policy interventions is needed. Commitment to the idea that the economy should take precedence over reducing health inequalities was low.

Conclusions

There is a demand for literature on health determinants that is sector specific and which provides practical and proven information about effective interventions that influence health.

Keywords: Determinants of health, Policymakers, Survey, New Zealand, Canada

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PII: S0033-3506(05)00264-7

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2005.10.008

Public Health
Volume 120, Issue 4 , Pages 283-289, April 2006

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