U3A Alexandra Series 3 - Session 3 - Stories in health data: Health and Wellbeing of children and young peoiple in Aotearoa

Stories In Health Data: Health and wellbeing of children and young people in Aotearoa. 

Dr. Mavis Duncanson is a retired Public Health Physician with a strong focus on child population health. She has held key roles such as co-director of the New Zealand Paediatric Surveillance Unit at the University of Otago, where she contributed to monitoring the absence of polio in Aotearoa. As Director and clinical epidemiologist with the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service, she provided vital data to support health policy and service planning for children and young people. Mavis is deeply committed to ensuring every child has the resources to thrive and is proud of the Service’s role in the annual Child Poverty Monitor, produced in partnership with the Children’s Commissioner and JR McKenzie Trust from 2013 to 2022.

In her upcoming U3A talk, Dr. Duncanson will reflect on research stories spanning her career, from its early days to her retirement in 2023. She will share insights into critical issues such as deaths in house fires, common causes of childhood hospitalisation, and the broader determinants of child health. Her presentation will also highlight the actions needed to achieve equitable health outcomes for all children and emphasize the ongoing importance of diseases like polio that must not be forgotten.