This involved linking large cohort studies to regional and national electronic health databases and enabling the generation of new risk-prevention equations using web-based tools, such as the PREDICT model, to implement, monitor and improve risk assessment and management guidelines.

Research on asthma in which Jackson participated influenced decisions made by the New Zealand Ministry of Health, and he has contributed to public debate on dietary risk factors for heart attacks and strokes.

The paper suggested the use of information technology to provide a more patient-centred approach that linked data from the initial screening through to medical interventions and rehabilitation.

Jackson and his team, in partnership with Enigma, a New Zealand company specialising in web solutions in healthcare, developed the web-based PREDICT decision support software for the assessment and management of CVD risk.

The study provided clinical decision support for New Zealand primary care practitioners while also creating a research cohort, with every patient risk assessment being stored and linked to future hospitalisations and death using secure encryption methodology.

In the 19th paper published about the study, it was stated that the use of the software had led to a "better understanding of the acceptability and impact of computerized decision support in primary care, data reliability and variations in risk factor profiles between ethnicities...[because]...the cohort was derived directly from routine practice with the authorisation to generate a single ethnicity classification across multiple databases...[so]...if a patient self-identifies as Māori in any of the linked databases, they will be classified as Māori.

The research results have implications for policy makers, clinicians and the public and will facilitate personalised management of cardiovascular risk in people with type 2 diabetes worldwide.

A report from the London School of Pharmacy, authored by Professor David Taylor said that this approach, when combined with other changes to lifestyle could be effective, and called for policies based on science "that encourage pharmaceutical companies to create polypills using older generic medicines.

[22]The aims of the VAREANZ programme are to: In 1982 a research team, of which Jackson was a member, examined an abrupt disproportionate increase in reported deaths from asthma in New Zealand after 1976 compared to several other countries.

It noted that although an earlier report had stated a possible causal association could have been produced by a combination of "information bias, confounding and chance", the author had considered further studies and was able to conclude: "the consistency and strength of the evidence for an empiric relationship between fenoterol prescription and asthma deaths leads to the conclusion that fenoterol prescription is likely to increase the risk of death from asthma...[and]...clinical and policy decisions should be based on this assessment.

"[31] Jackson subsequently published a paper in 2005 entitled Alcohol and ischaemic heart disease: probably no free lunch which concluded that "Any coronary protection from light to moderate drinking will be very small and unlikely to outweigh the harms.

He said that Teicholz was ill-informed or disingenuous because the evidence had shown that since the late 1960s people were healthier due to a reduction in cardiovascular disease because of a decrease in the consumption of saturated fats.

[39] Jackson co-authored the paper for a 2020 study involving 475,241 people that provided evidence Māori and Pacific people had a much higher prevalence of smoking, obesity, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and prior CVD compared with other ethnic groups...[and therefore]...experienced the most significant inequities in exposure to CVD risk factors compared with other ethnic groups...[and]...Strong political commitment and cross-sectoral action to implement effective interventions urgently needed.

"[40] A New Zealand longitudinal study published in 2021 in which Jackson participated, explored the relationship between occupational exposures and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) for males and females in the general and Māori populations.

The paper acknowledged that while previous research had identified many "psychosocial, organisational, and environmental workplace factors" were linked to cardiovascular disease, the ethnic minorities and females were not fully represented in the data.

The article also highlighted "false beliefs" that were claimed contributed to ongoing racism within the health sector in Aotearoa New Zealand and used examples of these in research in which they had explored "differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and outcomes by ethnicity.

"[45] In May 2020, Jackson questioned the approach of Sweden and other countries in attempting to achieve herd immunity to the Coronavirus, and stated that the elimination strategy employed at the time by the New Zealand Government was "the only sensible route in the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment.

"[46] A group of academics, led by Simon Thornley challenged the decision to go into lockdown, but their claim that COVID-19 was only marginally worse than the seasonal flu was rated as "mostly false" by AAP Factcheck, and in the same document, Jackson said that the Ioannidis study used by the group was "based on specific sub-populations – cities or regions – and tests were conducted over a relatively short period of time, which could also give inaccurate results.

He said COVID-19 is "the worst public health issue since World War II...[and that he was]...a supporter of 'no jab – no job' and virus containment measures saying New Zealand has to pull out all the stops to get Kiwis vaccinated."

[61] After the Delta variant had become established in New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern announced on 4 October 2021 a policy shift from elimination of the virus to a more mitigating suppression approach.

[62] Jackson contributed to an article at the time which stated that if COVID-19 became endemic in New Zealand the healthcare system could be overwhelmed, and the move from the elimination strategy would still require keeping the case numbers low, with a continuation of "border protection, mask wearing, distancing, bubbles, contact tracing, testing of people and waste water, and vaccination.

Jackson told Radio New Zealand that the government needed to take the position of 'no jab no job, no fun', [because] "the only game in town is to buy time until we get everyone vaccinated.

"[63] When the New Zealand Government announced a plan in December 2021 to loosen restrictions into the COVID-19 Protection Framework (also known as the 'Traffic Light' system),[64][65][66] Jackson told Māni Dunlop on RNZ that the changes may have been well timed but that there were still "more than a million people in the country unvaccinated" and the concern was that if cases got into isolated communities with lower rates of vaccination, that would create problems.

[67] He further urged caution when actual changes were made to the alert levels and the opening of internal New Zealand boundaries in December 2021, noting on RNZ Morning Report that the key was to get everyone vaccinated and avoid needing to put in more controls and restrictions.

"[69] On the 17 December 2021, Jackson explained that some of the implications for New Zealand of the arrival of the Omicron variant included the need to bring boosters of the vaccine forward and possibly a review of the opening of the borders scheduled for January 2022 which could affect overseas travel plans.

"[76] Jackson said that it was unclear whether or not Auckland had reached its peak of the Omicron outbreak, but agreed for the need to be cautious because the variant was only less severe if people were fully vaccinated.

[77] In a later interview on Radio New Zealand, Jackson said the daily numbers were not important because with self-reporting, there was a loss of control of the data and ideally RATs should be done with trained people to ensure the information was reported accurately.

He acknowledged that the New Government needed to review the isolation times and be pragmatic so that supply chains were not impacted, but it was crucial to keep the hospital system fully functioning as long as possible.

"[80] When questions were raised in April 2022 about the exact number of daily COVID-19 cases in the New Zealand community, Jackson said this was most likely because so many people were not reporting the results of their rapid antigen tests (RAT).