A Cancer Strategy for Aotearoa 2030: What should be prioritised and why?

Topics covered

Reflect on our progress, envision our future and strategise to realise our vision in:

• Cancer prevention, particularly in tobacco, alcohol, junk food and UVR
• Cancer care
• Action to ensure equity for Māori
• Action to ensure equity for Pacific Peoples
• Central and local government

Style of course

Online one-day workshop.

Who should attend?

If cancer prevention and care is your passion join us. You may be a clinician, a policy advisor, a health promoter, a community health worker, or a student in a health-related field. You may work in iwi and Pacific providers, in local and central government, in NGOs or academia. You all have much to contribute to this “wicked problem” that is cancer control.

Draft timetable

Teaching staff

Dr Jerram Bateman is a Research Fellow at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago (Dunedin). He has been involved in several research projects as part of Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration. His current research is focused on supportive care in cancer, particularly the challenges, barriers and facilitators associated with the need to travel for cancer treatment and supportive care; the provision of supportive care services and programmes for cancer survivors post-treatment; and inequity in supportive care.

Hannah Booth is the Policy and Government Relations Manager at the Cancer Society NZ National Office.

Shane Bradbrook is a leading Smokefree advocate and the Community Director of Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration. He has experience in the Iwi space, in government and non-government context from local to international.  Background: Delegate to UN-WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; Worked on UN Ad Hoc Interagency Taskforce on Tobacco Control; Agreement by the UN - WHO and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on tobacco use; Worked within indigenous context in Australia, Canada, USA, South America; Worked in the Pacific: Hawai’i, Tonga, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Timor-Leste; Instigator of Māori Affairs Select Committee Inquiry on the Tobacco Industry that led to Smokefree 2025 goal; Development of social marketing campaigns – ‘It’s About Whanau,’ ‘Māori Murder,’ ‘Endangered Species I & II,’ ‘Māori Killers’; Progressing various legislation and regulations through Parliament; Developed and implemented various National Tobacco Control Strategic/Action Plans; Co-author on numerous academic tobacco control papers. Governance/Advisory: National Action Committee: Smokefree 2025; Iwi: Ngāi Tāmanuhiri & Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui ā Kiwa & Iwi Chair’s Forum – Chair; Worked on Iwi Leaders Group re UNDRIP; PHARMAC: Consumer Advisory Committee – Chair & Te Rōpū Awhina Māori member; Te Paepae Arahi Trust: Māori Mental Health & Addictions – Chair.

Ryan Gage is Ryan is a Research Fellow for the Health Promotion and Policy Research Unit at the University of Otago, Wellington. He completed a Master's thesis in 2017 on sun protection practices among primary schoolchildren and the cost-effectiveness of installing shade in schools. He is currently working on research projects looking at UV exposure, skin cancer prevention, alcohol policy, and children's exposure to marketing of unhealthy commodities. He has contributed to several projects throughout the 5-year Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration programme.

Andrew Galloway joined the Alcohol Healthwatch team as Executive Director in October 2023. Andrew's extensive career includes alcohol harm reduction work at the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS), at the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC) and as the northern regional manager with the Health Promotion Agency. Andrew also worked at Auckland Council leading the liquor licensing and street trading team, then the community safety team.

Andrew brings contemporary wider public service experience from the last 5 years in regulatory leadership of Immigration, Tenancy Services (MBIE) and Commercial Transport Services (Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency). Andrew holds a post-graduate certificate in Public Policy from the Victoria University of Wellington.

Professor Chris Jackson is a medical oncologist committed to achieving better and more equitable cancer care through patient care, research, leadership and advocacy.  Chris is a co-Director of Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration and a Professor in the Department of Medicine at Otago University. Working with Cancer Trials NZ, his research brought to light key variations in bowel cancer treatment which resulted in national standards in cancer care being developed, monitored, and the first national cancer quality improvement plan. An international collaboration with six other countries followed where New Zealand's outcomes were found to be worse than comparable countries. He led the national discussion on the post-code lottery of cancer care, and his work with Dr Diana Sarfati and the late Blair Vining led to a new national cancer plan and the inception of a national cancer agency (Te Aho o te Kahu). He was medical director of the Cancer Society and helped establish the Cancer Agency. He continues treating patients, teaching students and doctors, researching new cancer drugs, and leads a national program on improving chemotherapy treatments in New Zealand.

Dr Christina McKerchar is of Ngāti Kahungunu, Tūhoe and Ngāti Porou descent. She is a is a co-Director of Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Population Health, University of Otago (Christchurch). She trained as a nutritionist and worked for a number of years for Te Hotu Manawa Māori (a national Māori Health provider). She has also worked for Agencies for Nutrition Action, a coalition group of non-government organisations who have an interest in nutrition. Christina has completed her PhD entitled: Food availability for Māori children: A rights based approach.

Dr Bronwen McNoe is a co-Director of Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration. She is a Senior Research Fellow and co-director of the Social and Behavioural Research Unit within the University of Otago’s Department of Preventive and Social Medicine. Dr McNoe has been a public health researcher for over 30 years and completed her PhD in 2020 which was focused on the primary prevention of skin cancer in educational settings. Her research has a strong focus on reducing population exposure to ultraviolet radiation (particularly for young people) and advocating for issues related to skin cancer control in Aotearoa / New Zealand. She also provides expert support for Cancer Society health promoters working in SunSmart to ensure evidence-based practice in their work. Dr McNoe represents primary prevention on national committees in skin cancer control.

Dr Rana Peniamina is a Research Fellow at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago (Dunedin). She has worked on research looking at the provision of nutrition information and support in the management of / recovery from cancer as well as contributing to Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku. Her research as part of this 5-year programme has included projects related to prevention and supportive care (with a particular focus on food and alcohol). Rana has a PhD (Food Science) from the University of Otago. Her Doctoral research was an interdisciplinary project investigating the impact of food allergies on quality of life. She has a particular interest in public health nutrition as well as identifying and understanding issues involved in the management of chronic health conditions, and finding ways to improve health outcomes, wellbeing and quality of life.

Dr Viliami Kulikefu Puloka is a public health physician currently working as Senior Health Promotion Strategist specialising in Pacific Health with the Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand. He is also a Research Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Otago.  He has a special interest in Noncommunicable diseases (NCD), especially diabetes, and obesity. For ten years, he led the fight against NCD in the Pacific Community (SPC) supporting the 22 Pacific Island countries and Territories before coming to New Zealand. Before that, Viliami worked as a clinician, as well as a public health practitioner with the Tonga Ministry of Health. He was given the task to set up the first health promotion unit combined with a focus on non-communicable diseases. A new era and a necessary paradigm shift from hospital and disease focus to empowering people to be part of the solutions. Viliami studied Public Health at the University of Hawaii, Diploma of Dermatology from Bangkok Institute of Dermatology, and studied Medicine at the University of Papua New Guinea.

Rami Rahal is Chief Executive for Te Aho o Te Kahu, New Zealand’s Cancer Agency, and National Director for Cancer Control. He leads the organization responsible for implementing the country’s National Cancer Action Plan.  Prior to that, he held the role of Vice-President, Performance and Innovation, at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. For more than 30 years, Rami has helped health-care organizations and governments make informed decisions in policy, planning and service delivery. In addition to his years of experience in senior leadership roles, he is an expert in health systems data, performance measurement and quality improvement. Rami has published on a range of topics, including more than 30 peer-reviewed articles on health system performance measurement and its use in evidence-based practice and policy. He has developed and led courses and workshops on these topics in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand.  Rami sits on a number of international cancer control boards and steering committees. Rami holds a B.Sc. In Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Toronto and a Master’s in Health Services Management from McMaster University.

Professor Louise Signal is a co-Director of Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration and currently Head of the Department of Public Health. Louise is also a Director of the Health Promotion and Policy Research Unit at the University of Otago, Wellington. Louise is a social scientist with a PhD in Community Health from the University of Toronto. She has been a member of the Department of Public Health for over 20 years and has previous experience working at central and local government in health promotion and community development. Professor Signal’s research focuses on identifying and addressing environmental determinants of health. Her research has a strong focus on equity for Māori, Pacific, and low-income communities. Key research areas include the politics of health and health equity, obesity prevention, and addressing harm from alcohol and sun exposure. Her research utilises qualitative research methods, policy research and mixed method research design. Professor Signal was principal investigator on an innovative research project that studied the world children live in – Kids’ Cam, which used automated cameras to record children’s worlds.

Jeannine Stairmand (Ngati Porou) is a Research Fellow in the Cancer and Chronic Conditions (C3) research group at the Department of Public Health, University of Otago (Wellington). Jeannine has been working on the C3 Qualitative Study: Cancer care journeys and clinical decision making and is a co-Director of Te Rōpū Rangahau ō Te Kāhui Matepukupuku: Cancer Society Research Collaboration. Jeannine is a nurse with a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health who has worked in the Māori and public health fields for the past 20 years. Her interest in cancer stems from her work in Māori health, public health and health promotion, particularly breast and cervical screening. Jeannine's research interests include Māori health, cancer and health promotion and prevention. Jeannine undertakes community service activities and is a ministerial appointment to the National Kaitiaki Group. She is also the co-convenor and lecturer of the Certificate in Health Promotion, Department of Public Health.

Location

This one-day course will be held online via zoom.

Course cost and registration

Online full day course

$225 early bird, $300 after Thursday 19 December 2024.

A 50% discount is available to full-time students, those unwaged and University of Otago staff.

Register now