2016-17 Summer Students

Posted by on 7 November 2016

Since 1995 the HOPE Foundation has awarded 35 Summer Studentships. Last year the title was changed to Summer Scholarships and the grant increased to $5500 per student. These scholarships are designed to encourage undergraduate students, showing promise as researchers, to undertake research projects during their summer break. The hope is that when they graduate they will undertake research based post graduate studies. These scholarships are in addition to the 63 scholarships we have awarded to post graduate students since our inception.

Maxwell, Hannah

Accessible transport and mobility in an Age- and Disability-friendly community

With an aging population in New Zealand, transport accessibility for older people, in particular public transport, is an emerging issue that has wide reaching health consequences both in terms of health care access and in terms of maintaining the social connections which are so important for mental well-being.

Statistics New Zealand has projected that, by 2061, 26 percent of the New Zealand Population will be aged over 65. Given the Statistics New Zealand Disability Survey finding in 2013 that 59% of over 65 year olds are also disabled it is clear that this population ought to be given significant voice in transport design policies. However, considerations relating to this group remain largely non-existent in our transport system design with the exception of concerns relating to older drivers.

Being disadvantaged in the transport system, physically, geographically or economically, is linked to increasing social exclusion and consequentially to increased morbidity and mortality. Recent research from Monash University has also demonstrated that in addition to the direct link to poorer health, transport disadvantage and social exclusion frequently occur together.

Little is known about the perspective of older people and those with disability on the New Zealand transport system. This presents a barrier to the development of better transport in New Zealand and means new transport projects such as the City Rail link are lacking vital information needed to allow them to best meet the needs of this growing demographic.

Oliver Scott

The costly end 

My research is part of the Life and Living in Advanced Age cohort study in New Zealand. Due to an ageing population globally and in New Zealand, health systems may be challenged by increasing health related needs in this group. Despite this, little is known about Māori and non-Māori of advanced age in New Zealand, even though population predictors estimate a trebling of the number of Māori, and a doubling of the number of non-Māori in the next 10 years.

Health costs for older people are distributed across hospital and community costs and vary considerably. Costs are closely associated with age, and are dominated by the cost made in the last year of life. A high level of healthcare utilisation is common in the last year in life, but the variation in that use has not been sufficiently described.

LiLACs NZ presents an opportunity to examine the amount and variability in end of life costs in both Māori and non-Māori of advanced age in New Zealand. The principal aim of the study is to establish health costs in the 12 months before death in Māori and non-Māori of advanced age in New Zealand, and to establish the primary correlates of high costs.