A 2019/2020 Summer Studentship research project
Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 is a goal set by the New Zealand government; it is not about banning smoking, it is about taking action against tobacco. This research will inform us about vaping as a tool to quit smoking. Is vaping becoming more popular? Is vaping taken up more by Māori than non-Māori smokers? This information will aid further planning and allow decision making like an incentive programme to support vaping to stop smoking
Student: Chloe Fuge
Supervisors: Jonathon Amos, Associate Professor Suzanne Pitama, Māori Indigenous Health Institute (MIHI), Professor Lutz Beckert, Department of Medicine
Sponsor: Māori/Indigenous Health Institute (MIHI)
Introduction
Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 is a goal set by the New Zealand government; it is not about banning smoking, it is about taking action against tobacco. Over the last year the Canterbury District Health Board and Pegasus have combined forces in Te Hā – Waitaha with a specific focus in enabling smoking cessation in Māori people. Planning and founding maintains a database on referrals, people who set a quit date, on products uses, and validated quitters.
Aim
The aim of this summer studentship is to interrogate this data and provide a one year snapshot on the smoking cessation products uses by different populations and how it has changed over the course of one year. A particular focus will be on the role of vaping in smoking cessation.
Method
This is a database analysis with support from planning and funding at Canterbury DHB.
Student researcher’s component of the study
- Literature review on vaping
- Meeting the Te Hā - Waitaha team and connecting with Manu Whenua
- Learning skills to extract, interpret and present data
- Feeding results back to Te Hā - Waitaha, key stake holders and Manu Whenua
- Drafting a peer reviewed article on the findings.
Student Prerequisites
Medical student ideally with an interest in public health and statistics
