Issue 262 - 29 September 2022

Welcome to the fortnightly Health Improvement and Innovation Digest. The Digest has links to key evidence of interest, with access to new content arranged by topic.

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Article Access

For articles that aren't open access, contact your DHB library, or organisational or local library for assistance in accessing the full text. If your organisation has a subscription, you may be able to use the icon under full text links in PubMed to access the full article.

Māori Innovation

Navigating the space between co-design and mahitahi: Building bridges between knowledge systems on behalf of communities
The aim of this article, published in the Australian Journal of Rural Health, is to provide knowledge and recommendations for researchers, health professionals and policymakers on navigating between science and mātauranga (knowledge) Māori when using co-design methodologies. 

Māori elders' perspectives of end-of-life family care: whānau carers as knowledge holders, weavers, and navigators
There is growing interest in palliative care within Indigenous communities, and within Aotearoa New Zealand, of the significant role that Māori (Indigenous people) families play in caring for older relatives. This study, published in Palliative Care and Social Practice, explored the centrality of culture in how Māori extended families (whānau) in Aotearoa New Zealand interpret and enact family-based care roles within the Māori world (Te Ao Māori).

Health Equity (New Zealand)

Māori, pharmacists, and medicines adherence - A mixed methods study exploring indigenous experiences of taking medicines 'as prescribed' and mechanisms of support
Medicines are the most common medical intervention and medicines adherence is associated with improved clinical outcomes. Understanding drivers and experiences of medicines adherence is important for optimising medicines use. Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) experience inequities in access to medicines yet little evidence exists regarding Māori and medicines adherence, or the role of pharmacists in supporting medicines adherence for Māori. The objective of this study, published in Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, was to explore Māori experiences of medicines adherence and non-adherence, and pharmacists' role in supporting adherence.

Universal healthcare for all? Māori health inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand (1975)-2000.
Despite establishing a so-called universal, taxpayer funded health system from 1938, New Zealand's health system has never delivered equitable health outcomes for its indigenous population, the Māori people. This article, published in Social Science & Medicine, documents these historic inequalities and discusses policy attempts to address them from the 1970s when the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi were first introduced in legislation.

Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Theories of Wellbeing and Their Suitability for Wellbeing Policy
A growing interest among governments in policies to promote wellbeing has the potential to revive a social view of health promotion. However, success may depend on the way governments define wellbeing and conceptualize ways to promote it. This article, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, analysed theories of wellbeing to discern twelve types of wellbeing theory and assess the suitability of each type of theory as a basis for effective wellbeing policies.

Hospital Productivity (International)

Understanding the impacts of health information systems on patient flow management: A systematic review across several decades of research
Patient flow describes the progression of patients along a pathway of care such as the journey from hospital inpatient admission to discharge. Poor patient flow has detrimental effects on health outcomes, patient satisfaction and hospital revenue. There has been an increasing adoption of health information systems (HISs) in various healthcare settings to address patient flow issues, yet there remains limited evidence of their overall impacts. The objective of this article, published in PLoS One, was to systematically review evidence on the impacts of HISs on patient flow management including what HISs have been used, their application scope, features, and what aspects of patient flow are affected by the HIS adoption.

Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (International)

Cardiovascular disease management in Australian adults with type 2 diabetes: insights from the CAPTURE study
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a well-recognised cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor and recent guidelines for the management of T2D include consideration of CVD risk. The aim of this study,  published in the Internal Medicine Journal, was to assess whether contemporary clinical management of Australians with T2D is in accord with recent national and international guidelines.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

COVID-19 related innovation in Aotearoa/New Zealand mental health helplines and telehealth providers - mapping solutions and discussing sustainability from the perspective of service providers
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated interventions resulted in changes in both the demand and supply of mental health services and necessitated agile adaptation and innovation from service providers. The aim of this study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, was to explore what innovative solutions were adopted in response to COVID-19 and the pandemic control measures, what opportunities and challenges were associated with these innovations, as well as to critically reflect on the longer-term sustainability of the innovations in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand mental healthcare.

Smoking Cessation (International)

Meta-Analysis on Associations of Timing of Maternal Smoking Cessation before and during Pregnancy with Childhood Overweight and Obesity
This systematic review and meta-analysis, published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, explored existing evidence around the association of maternal smoking cessation (versus nonsmokers) with childhood overweight and obesity.

Impact of smoking bans and other smoking cessation interventions in prisons, mental health and substance use treatment settings: A systematic review of the evidence
This systematic review, published in Drug and Alcohol Review, examined whether smoking bans alone are effective in achieving smoking cessation in people released from prison, and patients discharged from mental health or substance use settings.

Weight Management (International)

Effectiveness of peer-led programs for overweight and obesity in children: systematic review and meta-analysis
Child health promotion has used peer-led interventions for decades, but their effectiveness for childhood obesity is unknown. This review, published in the International Journal of Obesity, assesses the effectiveness of peer-led interventions on child and adolescent obesity using a range of adiposity outcomes. 

Oral Health (New Zealand)

Evaluation of a tailored oral health promotion intervention for Syrian former refugees in New Zealand
The aim of this study, published in Health Promotion International, was to investigate a health promotion strategy to improve oral health among former refugees in New Zealand.

Key Ministry of Health Publications

Clinical Rehabilitation Guideline for People with Long COVID in Aotearoa New Zealand
This guideline is intended to provide clinical guidance on long COVID conditions in both children and adults in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Principles for healthy urban development
The urban environment is a determinant of health and wellbeing. This publication, from the Public Health Agency, explores a vision for healthy urban development is pae ora – healthy futures. It identifies four inter-related principles to consider in urban development processes to achieve pae ora and achieve thriving outcomes for our communities.

Health Sector Initiative

Remote monitoring could give patients better care at home
The use of a smart new device to monitor patients’ health could improve the care they receive at home and help them spend less time in hospital. Two six-month trials of the BioSticker, an FDA-approved wearable data-gathering device, are underway in Counties Manukau, involving 50 patients and another 10 in South Canterbury. The separate trials will test the device’s application and effectiveness with patients in both urban and rural settings.

The information available on or through this newsletter does not represent Ministry of Health policy. It is intended to provide general information to the health sector and the public, and is not intended to address specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity.