PIPS exemplar

When unpacking the implication on personal, interpesonal and societal aspects you need to consider the following things

-What are the positive OR negative implications (There may be one or the other in this case)

-What are the short and long term implications (YOU MUST include both short and long term)

-Personal is aspects that affect the person directly. Eg. The teenagers that have fallen pregnant, The kids that are using the drugs, The people who are experiencing mental health issues themselves. 

Paragraph 1 – Short-term negative implications

Topic: Youth vaping in New Zealand has immediate and concerning health consequences. Example: According to the 2024 ARFNZ/SPANZ/NZAIMS Youth Vaping Survey, nearly half (48 %) of students who vaped in the previous week reported that it was having a negative effect on their health, and 47 % felt addicted—even among those as young as Year 7 (≈ 10–11 years old)(1). Explanation: These findings suggest that vaping is already compromising physical well‑being—likely through respiratory irritation, headache, shortness of breath, and other acute symptoms—while also fostering nicotine dependence early in adolescence. Link: This immediate harm disrupts young people’s health, school performance, emotional regulation, and daily functioning, setting a troubling foundation for further consequences if vaping persists.

Paragraph 2 – Long-term negative implications

Topic: The long-term ramifications of youth vaping in New Zealand include serious cognitive, developmental, and behavioural risks. Example: Research indicates that nicotine exposure during adolescence can impair brain development—affecting attention, memory and cognitive function, potentially “priming” the brain for addiction and other substance use later in life (2/3). Explanation: Because teenagers’ brains are particularly vulnerable to nicotine’s neuroplastic effects, even minimal exposure may cause lasting changes to neural circuitry—diminishing impulse control, academic achievement, and increasing susceptibility to future addictive behaviours. Moreover, studies show that vaping may slow New Zealand’s progress in reducing adolescent smoking, as rising vaping prevalence stalls declines in smoking initiation (4). Link: These long-term implications compound the short-term harms—entrenching nicotine dependence, undermining cognitive and academic outcomes, and potentially reversing decades of tobacco control gains among youth in Aotearoa.

-Interpersonal 

Paragraph 1 – Short-term interpersonal implications

Topic: Youth vaping in New Zealand can cause immediate interpersonal strain and disruption to family relationships, peer dynamics, and trust with healthcare professionals. Example: A Bay of Plenty family described how a teenager “vaped six times an hour” and became uncontrollable when the vape was taken away, with one mother saying that vaping “ripped” the family apart and left her child “looking like death” (5). At the same time, most youth obtain vapes from friends or family—often peer-driven supply that heightens social pressure The(6). Explanation: These dynamics introduce conflict at home as caretakers struggle to manage addiction behaviors, and peers become both facilitators and enablers of continued use. Furthermore, young people may feel alienated or morally judged by family members or medical professionals, undermining openness and support. Even though many young people are open to receiving health advice—such as regarding oral health risks—from oral health professionals, most report they’ve never been asked about vaping by these professionals (7). Link: This immediate interpersonal fallout can hinder effective communication, reduce trust between youth and caregivers or healthcare providers, and isolate young people at a critical time when support would be most needed.

Paragraph 2 – Long-term interpersonal implications

Topic: Over the long term, youth vaping can poison interpersonal relationships, influence peer norms, and erode sustainable support networks in New Zealand. Example: Social learning and peer influence are powerful predictors of vaping uptake—and long-term maintenance—among adolescents, as young people often start vaping to fit in; peers and siblings frequently introduce them to vaping (8). Explanation: Sustained vaping behavior can reinforce peer networks that normalize nicotine use, making it difficult for individuals to break free or seek help. Moreover, relationships with caregivers can remain strained by ongoing conflict, financial burden, or unsuccessful cessation attempts. In the healthcare context, if professionals fail to ask about or address vaping, opportunities for long-term guidance and relationship-building are lost (8). Link: Without positive, supportive interpersonal scaffolding—whether from friends, family, or health practitioners—youth are more likely to remain trapped in nicotine dependency, with weakened social bonds and fewer constructive pathways to cessation.

-Societal 

1: https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/youth-vaping-addiction-how-it-happens-and-why-it-matters?utm_source=chatgpt.com

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_nicotine_on_human_brain_development?utm_source=chatgpt.com

3: https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/youth-vaping-addiction-how-it-happens-and-why-it-matters?utm_source=chatgpt.com

4:https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2025/03/24/vaping-a-gateway-to-smoking--study-shows-.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

5: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/youth-vaping-addiction-bay-of-plenty-families-of-teen-vapers-share-heartbreaking-stories/TIUNBCCVAJALDBVC5HUP4GMOM4/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
6:https://nzmj.org.nz/media/pages/journal/vol-138-no-1608/the-effect-of-an-educational-intervention-on-high-school-students-knowledge-about-vaping-related-risks-and-expressed-desire-to-q/4263b69e77-1737579044/6653.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

7: https://nzmj.org.nz/media/pages/journal/vol-136-no-1582/how-young-people-in-aotearoa-perceive-vaping-and-the-associated-oral-health-risks/d7c6671972-1699231734/how-young-people-in-aotearoa-perceive-vaping-and-the-associated-oral-health-risks.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

8: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11920970/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

PIPS group reflections

Question: Explain why period povert in India is an international health issue

Topic: Period poverty in India is an international health issue because it affects global health, gender equality, and human rights, linking directly to internationally recognised development goals.

Example: UNICEF and WaterAid India report that around 71% of adolescent girls in India are unaware of menstruation before their first period, and only 36% use sanitary pads regularly. This lack of access to affordable products, safe sanitation, and menstrual health education leads to reproductive tract infections, school absenteeism, and social stigma.

Explanation: These health and social impacts are not just local problems—they undermine progress towards several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). The World Health Organization and United Nations Population Fund recognise menstrual health as a fundamental component of sexual and reproductive rights, meaning that period poverty in India represents a breach of internationally accepted health and human rights standards. Addressing it requires cross-border collaboration in funding, policy, and education, making it relevant to the international community.

Link: By framing period poverty in India as an international health issue, governments, NGOs, and global agencies are called to act collectively, recognising that gender-based health inequities anywhere slow worldwide progress towards equitable health outcomes and universal human rights.

Question: Explain why underage marriage in Iraq is an international health issue

Topic: Underage marriage in Iraq is an international health issue because it violates internationally recognised human rights, poses serious health risks to girls, and undermines global commitments to gender equality and well-being.

Example: In January 2025, Iraq’s parliament passed amendments to its Personal Status Law allowing religious courts to authorise marriages for girls as young as nine years old (The Guardian). Child marriage is linked to early pregnancies, which the World Health Organization identifies as a leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19, and is associated with higher rates of maternal mortality, obstetric complications, and infant mortality.

Explanation: These impacts go beyond Iraq’s borders because underage marriage directly conflicts with global agreements such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). The practice undermines efforts by the international community to end harmful traditional practices, as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), both of which Iraq has ratified. Global public health agencies and human rights organisations view the rollback of marriage age laws as a setback for international progress on women’s health and rights.

Link: Framing underage marriage in Iraq as an international health issue highlights the need for coordinated global advocacy, funding, and policy interventions, recognising that weakening protections for girls in any country slows worldwide progress toward equitable health outcomes, gender equality, and the elimination of child marriage everywhere.