Issue 293 - 8 February 2024

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

Tuakana-teina peer education programme to help Māori elders enhance wellbeing and social connectedness
There are significant inequities between Māori (Indigenous people) and non-Māori in ageing outcomes. This study, published in BMC Geriatrics, used a strengths-based approach based on the key cultural concept of mana motuhake (autonomy and self-actualisation) to develop a tuakana-teina (literally older sibling-younger sibling) peer education programme to assist kaumātua (elders) in addressing health and social needs.

Health Equity (New Zealand)

Adapting an equity-focused implementation process framework with a focus on ethnic health inequities in the Aotearoa New Zealand context
Health intervention implementation in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), as in many countries globally, usually varies by ethnicity. Māori (the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa) and Pacific peoples are less likely to receive interventions than other ethnic groups, despite experiencing persistent health inequities. This study, published in the International Journal for Equity in Health, aimed to develop an equity-focused implementation framework, appropriate for the Aotearoa NZ context, to support the planning and delivery of equitable implementation pathways for health interventions, with the intention of achieving equitable outcomes for Māori, as well as people originating from the Pacific Islands.

A Whakawhanaungatanga Māori wellbeing model for housing and urban environments
Significant effort is underway to address the housing crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand, including rapid investment in public and community housing. As Māori face many systemic barriers and impediments to home ownership, delivery and development of housing options and make up a significant proportion of public housing tenants, developing and managing housing and associated neighbourhoods that enable and support Māori wellbeing is of critical importance. Published in Kōtuitui, the Whakawhanaungatanga Māori Wellbeing Model for Housing and Urban Environments – for use by researchers, developers, designers, managers and regulators –emphasises Whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building and creating connectedness) as central to wellbeing outcomes for Māori.

Kaumātua needs and perspectives regarding urban papakāinga: a mixed methods observational study
Safe, secure, suitable housing is often an unattainable reality for kaumātua (older Māori aged 55 years and over in this study) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Kaumātua, unfortunately, are at the forefront of the housing crisis, and struggle to find housing which meets their most basic needs. Therefore, many organisations are considering the development of urban papakāinga to meet their needs. The purpose of this study, published in Kōtuitui, is to assess the needs of kaumātua currently in temporary, emergency or state housing situations to understand their perspectives about what factors enable successful urban papakāinga.

Hospital Productivity (New Zealand)

Acute care pathway assessed through performance indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic in OECD countries (2020–2021): a scoping review
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted care for non-COVID patients. Performance indicators to monitor acute care, timely reported and internationally accepted, lacked during the pandemic in OECD countries. This study, published in BMC Emergency Medicine, aims to summarise the performance indicators available in the literature to monitor changes in the quality of acute care in OECD countries during the first year and a half of the pandemic (2020-July 2021) and to assess their trends.

Cancer Services (New Zealand)

“Beyond Feasibility" patients, their whānau (family) and staff perspectives of delirium prevention
Delirium is prevalent in the hospice population. Despite causing significant distress to patients and families, delirium is under-recognised. There is a need to better understand delirium prevention and outcomes in this population including people's experiences of delirium prevention strategies in different cultural contexts. The aim of this study, published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, was to determine whether the 'PRESERVE Aotearoa' delirium prevention intervention was feasible and acceptable for Māori and non-Māori patients with advanced cancer, their families, and clinical staff.

Access to and Timeliness of Lung Cancer Surgery, Radiation Therapy, and Systemic Therapy in New Zealand: A Universal Health Care Context
Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer of indigenous peoples worldwide, including Māori people in New Zealand. There is some evidence of disparities in access to lung cancer treatment between Māori and non-Māori patients, but an examination of the depth and breadth of these disparities is needed. This study, published in JCO Global Oncology, uses national-level data to examine disparities in access to surgery, radiation therapy and systemic therapy between Māori and European patients, as well as timing of treatment relative to diagnosis.

Cancer Services (International)

Relationship between climate change and skin cancer and implications for prevention and management: a scoping review
This scoping review, published in Public Health, aimed to explore the published research on the relationship between climate change and skin cancer and the implications for prevention, management and further research.

Emergency Department Services (New Zealand)

Review article: Pre-hospital trauma guidelines and access to lifesaving interventions in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand
The centralisation of trauma services in western countries has led to an improvement in patient outcomes. Effective trauma systems include a pre-hospital trauma system. Delivery of high-level pre-hospital trauma care must include identification of potential major trauma patients, access and correct application of lifesaving interventions and timely transport to definitive care. This paper, published in Emergency Medicine Australasia, examined clinical guidelines from all 10 EMS in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Primary Health Care (New Zealand)

New migrants’ access to primary healthcare services in Aotearoa New Zealand
The aim of this study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, was to explore new migrants’ access to primary healthcare services in the first 10 years after arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

Messages from rainbow rangatahi to mental health professionals in training
Past research has shown significant inequities in mental health outcomes between rainbow and non-rainbow people, particularly for youth. Rainbow youth report mixed experiences when accessing support, signalling the need for increased rainbow competency training for mental health professionals (MHPs). While previous research has explored the experiences of rainbow young people, little research has sought direct messages from rainbow youth to training MHPs. The current study, published in Kōtuitui, presents a thematic analysis of messages from rainbow rangatahi (14–24 years) to training MHPs.

Primary Mental Health (International)

Screening for depression in children and adolescents in primary care or non-mental health settings: a systematic review update
The transition from childhood to adolescence is associated with an increase in rates of some psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, a debilitating mood disorder. The aim of this systematic review, published in Systematic Reviews, is to update the evidence on the benefits and harms of screening for depression in primary care and non-mental health clinic settings among children and adolescents.

Weight Management (New Zealand)

Preliminary Results of a Grounded Theory Study on Using Mobile Health for Physical Activity
As the first stage of substantive theory building, this study published in Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, explored the behavioural responses of people with long-term weight concerns using mHealth to increase their physical activity within a New Zealand context.

Key Ministry of Health Publications

Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health November 2023
Following the 2023 general election, the Ministry of Health produced a briefing to the incoming Minister of Health, as is usual practice.

Joint Briefing to the Incoming Minister for Mental Health 2023
Following the 2023 general election, the Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand, and the Māori Health Authority together produced a Joint Briefing to the Incoming Minister for Mental Health.

Ministry of Health Consultations & Events

Proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations 
The Ministry of Health is seeking the views of New Zealanders on amendments proposed by Member States to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR). This will help inform New Zealand’s position as we contribute to the ongoing negotiations in the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (WGIHR). This consultation closes 18 February 2024.

Health Sector Initiative

Te Kāika Wellbeing Hub Opening
The Wellbeing Hub will be opening on the 1 May 2024 in Dunedin. This purpose-built facility will bring Te Whatu Ora Southern, Ministry of Social Development, and Naylor Love together under one roof - with a combined service approach. It will create a welcoming environment where whānau and community can have all of their needs met across primary health care and social services.

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.