The Ozanam House Trust has provided accommodation in Palmerston North for cancer patients and their caregivers since 1967 It was the brainchild of members of the Palmerston North St. Vincent de Paul Society. People requiring treatment for cancer have, until now, had to go to Palmerston North from other mid-north Island places to receive treatment Read more
In our contemporary world, noise pollution has reached dangerous levels. The World Health Organization has argued that “excessive noise” is a serious threat to human health. Studies have shown that excessive exposure to noise not only causes hearing loss but also leads to heart disease, poor sleep and hypertension. In some parts of the world, Read more
Spiritual care must be integrated into health system care plans, policies and training in order to reflect national guidelines and strategies more effectively, according to University of Otago researchers. In interviews with 24 cancer survivors, their whanau and health workers, the researchers found participants felt as if documentation of their spiritual beliefs had the potential Read more
Samoa’s health authorities are desperate for the whooping cough vaccination programme to resume. Following the death of two babies, the programme was suspended in July and the nurses who administered the vaccinations have been stood down. University of Auckland vaccinologist Dr Helen Petousis-Harris told NewsTalkZB in July that one death, let alone two, was extremely Read more
The latest in a long line of studies, now numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands, shows that church attendance is good for your health. Published in May by researchers from Vanderbilt University, the study found that middle-aged adults who attended religious services at least once in the past year were half as likely to die prematurely Read more
There are many moments – the loss of a job, finding out you have cancer, a child’s walk home from school in a dangerous neighbourhood – when faith in a loving God watching over you can provide comfort and hope, several studies have found. But are there times when too much control can be ceded Read more
Pope Francis has stumbled in public twice in three days. On Saturday, the Pope tripped up on the steps of St Peter’s Basilica, stopping his fall with outstretched arms. Two aides helped him back to his feet. On Monday, the Pontiff faltered on his way up the steps during a service at the Basilica of Read more
The Vatican has dismissed as “baseless” a report that Pope Francis has a benign brain tumour. As reports of the story originally published in Italy’s Quotidiano Nazione spread around the world, the Vatican issued three denials. The report was called “a grave act of irresponsibility, absolutely inexcusable and unconscionable”. Quotidiano Nazionale reported on its front Read more
New Zealand’s top medical body had called for a clampdown on our rampant boozing, including banning advertising, raising the drinking age, and increasing taxes. In a “briefing” published last week, the New Zealand Medical Association says the Government needs to intervene more heavily in the liquor industry for the nation’s collective health. “We consider it Read more
A Catholic Sister in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province says Christian health workers alone cannot adequately fight tuberculosis in the remote province. Sister Anna Sanginawa says the sporadically-funded job that Christian Health Services commit themselves to is not enough to beat TB. Western is one of three provinces in PNG that the national government recently Read more