
Associate Professor Nevil Pierse is Deputy Director of He Kāinga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme. Originally a statistician by training, his current work is done in partnership with a wide variety of stakeholders including government and community organisations, and is focused on the design and implementation of randomised trials in the home and community.
His previous studies have shown the benefits of efficient home heating and insulation, which was instrumental in the $300 Million EECA, Warm Up New Zealand, Heat Smart programme. Nevil’s other previous work includes the HRC funded Home Injury Prevention Intervention, which showed that simple home repairs and modification reduced the number of falls in homes by 27%. He was part of the group awarded the 2014 NZ Prime Minister's Prize for Science. He is currently working on the SHELTHER study which looks at home interventions to prevent rehospitalisation of children with respiratory disease. Nevil current leads the 'Ending Homelessness in New Zealand: Housing First' MBIE funded research programme.
Key publications
- Housing and urban regeneration in Aotearoa New Zealand.Public Health Communication Centre,Public Health Priority Series 21 February 2023.
- Baker. M. Cunningham, C Amore, K Boulic, M Halley, C Nathan, K Pehi, T. Phipps, R Ruru, J Shaw, Caroline Toy-Cronin, B Tupara, H Wilkie, M Zhang, WHe Kāinga Oranga: reflections on 25 years of measuring the improved health, wellbeing and sustainability of healthier housing.Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand,Online.
- Housing: the key infrastructure to achieving health and wellbeing in urban environments.Oxford Open Infrastructure and Health,ouad001.
- Does the proportion of public housing tenants in a community affect their wellbeing? Results from New Zealand: A retrospective cohort study using linked administrative dataCities,131, 103916.
- Post-housing first outcomes amongst a cohort of formerly homeless youth in Aotearoa New Zealand.Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand,1-17.
- Residential mobility for a national cohort of New Zealand- born children by area socioeconomic deprivation level and ethnic group.BMJ Open11(1):e039706.
- What is a Mixed-tenure Community? Views from New Zealand Practitioners and Implications for Researchers.Urban Policy and Research,39(1), 33-47.
- The effects of housing on health and well-being in Aotearoa New Zealand.New Zealand Population Review,47, 16-32.
- Home modifications to prevent home fall injuries in houses with Māori occupants (MHIPI): A randomised controlled trial.Lancet Public Health,6(9), e631-e640.
- Perceived benefits and risks of developing mixed communities in New Zealand: Implementer perspectives.Urban Research & Practice.Advance online publication.
- Residential mobility and socioemotional and behavioural difficulties in a preschool population cohort of New Zealand children.BMJ of Epidemiology and Community Health73(10).
- Healthy homes initiative: Initial analysis of health outcomes.Motu Note #37, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, Wellington, New Zealand
- Endotoxin, cat, and house dust mite allergens in electrostatic cloths and bedroom dust.J Occup Environ Hyg.16(1):89-96
- Lessons learned from implementing a programme of home modifications to prevent falls amongst the general population.Safety4.
- Cold New Zealand Council Housing Getting an Upgrade.Policy Quarterly14, 2, 65-73.
- Preval, N. Amore, K. Rivera-Muñoz, G. Oliver, J.Housing, energy and health in resilient cities.In P. Howden-Chapman, L. Early & J. Ombler (Eds.), Cities in New Zealand: Preferences, patterns and possibilities.(pp. 95-106). Wellington, New Zealand: Steele Roberts Aotearoa.
- Cost-benefit analysis of fall injuries prevented by a programme of home modifications: a cluster randomised controlled trial.Injury Prevention23, 1, 22–26
- Examining the role of tenure, household crowding and housing affordability on psychological distress using longitudinal data.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health70, 10