Public Health
Public Health is more than just sickness and hospitals.
“Public Health is the science and art of promoting and protecting health, preventing disease, and prolonging life through the organised efforts of society” – World Health Organisation.
Here at Hauora Tairawhiti our Public Health team provides a range of services aimed at supporting good health in our community that enables people to lead happy and rewarding lives.
We are a district wide service that stretches from Potaka at the top of the East Cape, inland to Motu and to the Wharerata ranges in the south.
Population Health
Healthy Environments
The Healthy Environments part of this team focuses on improving the health and well-being of populations within the focal work areas of Workplace Health, Environmental Health, Communicable Disease and Food Safety.
Health Protection Officers within the team ensure public health risks are identified and managed, investigate public health concerns and enforce public health legislation. They also provide advice and information to community leaders, members of the public and others who influence the determinants of health.
Healthy Populations
The Healthy Populations component of the same team provides leadership in population health issues of nutrition, physical activity, tobacco control and sexual health promotion. The direction is determined through strategies like the Healthy Eating Healthy Action (HEHA) Strategic Plan and the Tobacco Control Strategy.
The direction targets settings: i.e. schools, Te kohanga reo, workplaces, marae. The Healthy Populations team aims to ensure that any planning and facilitation addresses the need to reduce health inequalities, provide the opportunity for consultation, and, work with a collaborative approach – within the health sector and alongside other sectors.