Growing Up in New Zealand

Growing Up in New Zealand
Type of projectLongitudinal study
LocationNew Zealand
FundingNew Zealand Government
Websitewww.growingup.co.nz

The Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study (GUiNZ) is New Zealand's largest ongoing cohort study. It recruited and follows 6,846 New Zealand children born between 2009 and 2010[1][2]—approximately 11 per cent of all children born in the country in that period.[1] The project aims to create an in-depth summary of what life is like for children in New Zealand, and what factors affect their happiness, health, and development.[3] The study also seeks to represent the diversity of modern-day New Zealand families,[1][4] filling in current knowledge gaps on the health and wellbeing of Māori, Pasifika, and other communities. The study is run from the University of Auckland and is funded primarily by the New Zealand Government.[5]

History

[edit]

The study was specifically designed to provide population-relevant and modern data on New Zealand's children in the nation, which ranked 29th out of 30 OECD countries for child health as of 2009.[6] The study was launched in 2008, directed by Dr Susan Morton.[7] Recruitment of more than 6000 pregnant women from the Auckland and Waikato regions began in 2009.[8]

In April 2024, RNZ reported that the Ministry of Social Development had not renewed the contract for Growing Up in New Zealand in February 2024 despite the Sixth Labour Government's 2023 budget including NZ$30 million over the next four years to fund the study. In response to media attention, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston and the University of Auckland said they were exploring functions to continue funding the Growing Up in NZ Study.[9] In mid-September 2024, Upston confirmed that the Sixth National Government would be investing NZ$16.8 million into the longitudinal study over the next four years.[10]

Outcomes

[edit]

The study has revealed important information on many issues facing New Zealand children. This includes issues such as poverty,[11] obesity,[12] diet,[13] ethnic differences in healthcare access,[14] and antenatal and postpartum depression of parents.[15]

GUiNZ has led to key policy changes in areas such as immunisation,[16] the Māori language,[17] parental leave,[17] nutrition,[18] and household safety,[19] improving the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders. In 2019, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment awarded the study an Endeavour Fund grant.[20] The project "Our generation, our voices, all our futures" was established to create new technological connections with the cohort and engage the broader public with the study.[21]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Walters, Laura (15 May 2018). "Budget 2018: $2m for NZ's biggest longitudinal study about growing up in NZ". Stuff. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  2. ^ Morton, S. M., Ramke, J., Kinloch, J., Grant, C. C., Carr, P. A., Leeson, H., ... & Robinson, E. (2015). Growing Up in New Zealand cohort alignment with all New Zealand births. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 39(1), 82-87.
  3. ^ "Ten-year childhood study: Fascinating findings about New Zealand children". The New Zealand Herald. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  4. ^ Morton, S.M.B., Walker, C.G., Gerritsen, S., Smith, A., Cha, J., Atatoa Carr, P., Chen, R., Exeter, D.J., Fa’alili-Fidow, J., Fenaughty, J., Grant, C. Kim, H., Kingi, T., Lai, H., Langridge, F., Marks, E.J., Meissel, K., Napier, C., Paine, S., Peterson, E.R., Pilai, A., Reese, E., Underwood, L., Waldie, K.E, Wall, C. Growing Up in New Zealand: A longitudinal study of New Zealand children and their families. Now We Are Eight. Auckland: Growing Up in New Zealand.
  5. ^ Sepuloni, Carmel (4 June 2019). "Funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study". New Zealand Government. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  6. ^ Susan M B Morton, Polly E Atatoa Carr, Cameron C Grant, Elizabeth M Robinson, Dinusha K Bandara, Amy Bird, Vivienne C Ivory, Te Kani R Kingi, Renee Liang, Emma J Marks, Lana M Perese, Elizabeth R Peterson, Jan E Pryor, Elaine Reese, Johanna M Schmidt, Karen E Waldie, Clare Wall, Cohort Profile: Growing Up in New Zealand, International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 42, Issue 1, February 2013, Pages 65–75, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyr206
  7. ^ "Funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study". New Zealand Government. Scoop. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Study History". Growing Up in New Zealand. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  9. ^ Gerritsen, John (5 April 2024). "Government funding ends for 15-year long Growing Up in New Zealand project". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  10. ^ Upston, Louise (26 September 2024). "More funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  11. ^ Collins, Simon (24 Feb 2015). "Half of Kiwi families with new baby suffer hardship - report". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  12. ^ Berry, S. D., Walker, C. G., Ly, K., Snell, R. G., Carr, P. A., Bandara, D., ... & Grant, C. C. (2018). Widespread prevalence of a CREBRF variant amongst Māori and Pacific children is associated with weight and height in early childhood. International Journal of Obesity, 42(4), 603-607.
  13. ^ Lawrence, R. L., Wall, C. R., & Bloomfield, F. H. (2020). Dietary patterns and dietary adaptations in women with and without gestational diabetes: Evidence from the Growing up in New Zealand Study. Nutrients, 12(1), 227.
  14. ^ Clark, T., Dasgupta, K., Lewycka, S., Pacheco, G. & Plum, A. (2020) Ethnic differences in the use and experience of child healthcare services in NZ: An empirical examination. Auckland. https://workresearch.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/483319/report-final-final-2Dec2020.pdf
  15. ^ Waldie, K. E., Peterson, E. R., D'Souza, S., Underwood, L., Pryor, J. E., Carr, P. A., ... & Morton, S. M. (2015). Depression symptoms during pregnancy: evidence from growing up in New Zealand. Journal of affective disorders, 186, 66-73.
  16. ^ Nowlan, M., Willing, E., & Turner, N. (2019). Influences and policies that affect immunisation coverage-a summary review of literature.
  17. ^ a b Bird, A. L., Carr, P. E. A., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. (2016). Policy translation for early childhood education and care: the Growing Up in New Zealand approach. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 10(1), 1-18.
  18. ^ Growing Up in New Zealand (2014). Growing Up in New Zealand Policy Brief. Nutrition and physical activity during pregnancy: evidence from Growing Up in New Zealand. Auckland: Growing Up in New Zealand.
  19. ^ Berry, S., Carr, P. A., Kool, B., Mohal, J., Morton, S., & Grant, C. (2017). Housing tenure as a focus for reducing inequalities in the home safety environment: evidence from Growing Up in New Zealand. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 41(5), 530-534.
  20. ^ 2019 Endeavour Round Successful Projects (PDF) (Report). Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. 2019. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  21. ^ Montgomery, Denise (2020-06-24). "Susan Morton: playing the long game in research". University of Auckland. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Growing_Up_in_New_Zealand&oldid=1248039000"