Equity
Latest | Media coverage | Commentary | Academic Literature | Legislation | Reports and Government Documents
Exploring the impacts of the health system on minorities within the population, notably including Māori, Pacifica, Asians and LGBTQI; and how interventions, policy and the health system overall can contribute to such groups attaining an equitable health status.
Latest
Media coverage
Prominent medical bodies call for release of delayed gender affirming healthcare guidelines
Prominent medical bodies are calling on the government to allow the release of updated gender affirming healthcare guidelines after a small section on puberty blockers caused it to be delayed.
Immunisation rates: Bay of Plenty, Lakes Māori children lag behind Europeans
Limited healthcare facilities and lack of transport options are barriers for Māori tamariki getting their childhood vaccinations, a senior university lecturer says.
Budget must prioritise child mental health after abysmal New Zealand OECD ranking
The findings of UNICEF’s Report Card 19 paint a devastating picture of a country failing its youngest, the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) says.
Commentary
Taitokerau Rautaki Hauora 2040
Taitokerau Rautaki Hauora 2040 is a strategy and plan document collaborated with communities, whānau, hapū, iwi, Ngāi Māori and health workers.
Health NZ releases five further change decisions
The changes announced today are part of Health NZ’s ongoing effort to moving toward a sustainable future for New Zealand healthcare and ensure our resources and people are organised in the best way to support care being delivered closer to the patient.
1 in 6 New Zealanders is disabled. Why does so much health research still exclude them?
Disabled people encounter all kinds of barriers to accessing healthcare – and not simply because some face significant mobility challenges.
Academic Literature
Does access to medicines differ from access to healthcare? Experiences of barriers to medicines access by people facing social disadvantage
Levesque et al.’s widely-cited five dimensional model of access to healthcare has been used in a variety of contexts, including access to medicines.
Refining the definitions of cultural safety, cultural competency and Indigenous health: lessons from Aotearoa New Zealand
Eliminating Indigenous and ethnic health inequities requires culturally-competent and culturally-safe health workforces and systems. Health professional training institutions and regulatory bodies are increasingly including cultural competency and cultural safety in health professional accreditation standards, and pre-service and in-service training programmes. However, there are mixed definitions and understandings of cultural competency and cultural safety, and how best to achieve them.
Equity, power and resources in primary health care reform: insights from Aotearoa New Zealand
The study found that despite policy intent, actors holding political power shaped health outcomes under the reforms, curtailing the mechanisms that could have made a significant impact on equitable health outcomes between population groups.
Legislation and Parliament
Health Entitlement Cards Amendment Regulations 2024
The new entitlement thresholds reflect an increase of 4.66% in the New Zealand Consumers Price Index from the December 2022 quarter to the December 2023 quarter (calculated for all quarters using the New Zealand Consumers Price Index (All Groups))
Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022
The purpose of this Act is to provide for the public funding and provision of services in order to—
(a) protect, promote, and improve the health of all New Zealanders; and
(b) achieve equity in health outcomes among New Zealand’s population groups, including by striving to eliminate health disparities, in particular for Māori; and
(c) build towards pae ora (healthy futures) for all New Zealanders.
Reports and Government Documents
Government continues to respond to Royal Commission into Abuse in Care
The Government has outlined its ongoing response to the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions.
Disability Taskforce extended as Budget funding boosts system
The Disability Support Services Taskforce will be extended for a year to continue its progress in stabilising the disability support system and shaping it for the future.
Regional Data Release 2011/12–2023/24: New Zealand Health Survey
The New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS) provides information about the health and wellbeing of adults and children in New Zealand. These tables present key health indicators from all years of the continuous New Zealand Health Survey for adults and children, using a three-year rolling average.
Key issues
HEALTH SERVICES AND SYSTEMS
EQUITY
DRUGS, DEVICE AND DIAGNOSTICS
PUBLIC HEALTH
DIGITAL HEALTH
TE TIRITI