Issue 323 - 29 May 2025

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 Health NZ district 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.

Health Equity (New Zealand)

Decolonising outcome measurement: a systematic review of health and wellbeing measures for Māori
The objective of the study, published in AlterNative, is to conduct a systematic review and methodological quality appraisal on studies reporting the development of health and wellbeing outcome measures for Māori (Indigenous people of New Zealand), identify common features and processes, and critically appraise the measures using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN).

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. The aim of this paper, published in the International Journal for Equity in Health, is to share expert reflections upon the experience over the six years since 2019, of implementing this definition in an Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) context.

The Health Needs and Management of Young People Accessing Paediatric Hauora Tāhine (Transgender Health) Services in Te Tai Tokerau
Gender diverse tamariki and rangitahi (children and young people) have unique medical care needs. It is essential that this group receives timely and individualised care, provided locally and includes access to psychological support. This study, published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, sought to describe the health needs and management of young people accessing Paediatric Hauora Tāhine (Transgender Health) services in the Te Tai Tokerau region of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

A history of affirmative entry schemes at Otago Medical School
This article, published in The New Zealand Medical Journal, documents the history of affirmative entry policies at the University of Otago Medical School.

Asian and ethnic minority health research in Aotearoa New Zealand: a scoping review of grey literature (2011–2020)
A wealth of knowledge, especially on ethnic and migrant health, is located in “grey literature.” This article, published in The New Zealand Medical Journal, reviews grey literature on Asian and other ethnic minority health in Aotearoa New Zealand, covering a decade between 2011 and 2020.

Health Equity (International)

Preventative behavioural interventions that reduce health inequities: a systematic review using the theoretical domains framework
Wider determinants of health, such as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age influence health and well-being, often contributing to health inequities. The purpose of this systematic review, published in BMC Public Health, was to identify preventative behavioural interventions that reduce health inequities or inequalities and to analyse which theoretical domains have been used in the intervention design and implementation.

Hospital Productivity (International)

“A banana in the tailpipe”: a qualitative study of patient flow in the healthcare system
Suboptimal patient flow and impaired hospital access can lead to adverse outcomes, including lower care quality, higher mortality risk, and patient dissatisfaction. Despite awareness, optimizing patient flow remains an area requiring further development. This study, published in BMC Health Services Research, aimed to comprehensively identify factors hindering patient flow in a large healthcare system and explore potential solutions, using a qualitative approach for context-specific insights.

Clinical pathways for secondary care and the effects on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay and hospital costs
Clinical pathways (CPWs) are structured multidisciplinary care plans. They aim to translate evidence into practice and optimize clinical outcomes. The objective of this Cochrane Review was to investigate the effect of CPWs on patient outcomes, length of stay, costs and charges, adherence to recommended practice, and to measure the impact of different approaches to implementation of CPWs.

Cancer Services (New Zealand)

Quality of life and supportive care needs in prostate cancer: the impact of treatment received and care service utilization among Māori and non-Māori patients in New Zealand
Prostate cancer treatment can lead to significant long-term side effects that impact patients' quality of life and supportive care needs (SCN). This study, published in Supportive Care in Cancer, explores the associations between quality of life (QoL) and SCN among prostate cancer survivors, with a focus on the impact of treatment received, care service utilization, and the differences between Māori and non-Māori patients.

Primary Health Care (International)

Social prescribing for people living with long-term health conditions: a scoping review
Social prescribing links people to activities and services typically provided by local voluntary and community sectors to address social determinants of health and wellbeing. People living with long-term health conditions are a target population. This relatively new approach is rapidly expanding, and there is varied evidence regarding how social prescribing is being delivered for people living with long-term conditions. This scoping review, published in Systematic Reviews, aims to report on what is known about the approach for these patient populations.

Interventions to improve referrals from primary care to outpatient specialist services for chronic conditions: a systematic review and framework synthesis update
This systematic review, published in Systematic Reviews, evaluated the updated evidence exploring interventions aiming to improve rates and/or appropriateness of referral from primary care to specialist services in patients with chronic conditions.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

Brief interventions for suicidal ideation in primary care: a systematic review
General practitioners play a crucial role in assessing and diagnosing suicidal ideation, often acting as the first person of contact for individuals with mental health concerns. Given the time constraints faced by primary care providers, interventions need to be brief and easily implemented. This systematic review, published in BMC Primary Care, seeks to identify, compare, and critically evaluate effective brief interventions for managing suicidality in primary care, offering a comprehensive overview and discussion of key findings.

A youth-informed approach to mental health service websites: 'so people can actually connect'
There are well-recognised barriers that prevent young people from accessing timely mental health support and there is an opportunity to promote their engagement with professional support through websites associated with a mental health service. This Aotearoa, New Zealand-based study, published in Health Promotion International, aimed to identify the elements of a website that young people believed would improve engagement with the service.

Primary Mental Health (International)

Effects of caregiver and family interventions on patients with common mental health problems in primary care: a systematic review
Common mental health problems are often diagnosed and treated by primary care physicians, who take care of entire families. This systematic review, published in Family Practice, explored the methods of primary care interventions involving informal caregivers and their effects on the mental health outcomes of the care recipients suffering from symptoms of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder shall be examined.

Increased Immunisation (International)

Effectiveness of interventions to improve vaccine efficacy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Vaccination is a crucial public health intervention that has significantly reduced the incidence of infectious diseases. Vaccine-related interventions refer to strategies implemented to enhance vaccination uptake, coverage, and effectiveness, like modes of delivery, types or dosages. Despite extensive research on vaccine efficacy, a comprehensive analysis of the variability in vaccine effectiveness across different interventions, settings, and populations is limited. This study, published in Systematic Reviews, aims to systematically review and meta-analyse the impact of various Vaccine-Related Interventions.

Initiatives to increase childhood vaccination coverage: an international comparison
Childhood vaccination rates fluctuate over time and do not always meet the levels recommended by the WHO. This study, published in Health Policy, aims to provide an overview of measures countries have introduced to increase vaccination rates.

Smoking Cessation (International)

Artificial intelligence in tobacco control: A systematic scoping review of applications, challenges, and ethical implications
Tobacco use remains a significant global health challenge, contributing substantially to preventable morbidity and mortality. Despite established interventions, outcomes vary due to scalability issues, resource constraints, and limited reach. The objective of this scoping review, published in the International Journal of Medical Informatics, was to systematically explore current artificial intelligence (AI) applications within tobacco control, highlighting their usefulness, benefits, limitations, and ethical implications.

Key Ministry of Health Publications

Gerontechnology: A Scoping Review of Telehealth and Ageing in Place Initiatives for Kaumātua with a Focus on Dementia and Loneliness
This brief was written by Rangimahora Reddy, the inaugural Ageing Well Fellow during her time working with the Office of the Chief Science Advisor as a part of the Ageing Well National Science Challenge. The Brief includes: a summary of the ageing landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a specific focus on kaumātua key findings from a review of the literature focused on systematic and scoping reviews involving older adults and caregivers, looking at technological innovations, interventions for cognitive improvement, dementia care strategies, and efforts to reduce loneliness and social isolation recommendations to inform practice, policy, and future actions to improve the access, design, implementation, and adoption of gerontechnology solutions for kaumātua.

Consultation on Proposed Prescription Medicines List for Designated Podiatrist Prescribers: Analysis of Submissions
In May 2025 podiatrists who have undertaken appropriate training were granted designated prescribing authority under the ‘Medicines (Designated Prescriber-Podiatrist) Regulations 2025’. The Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora (the Ministry), on behalf of the Director-General of Health, working with the Podiatrists Board of New Zealand, is responsible for establishing a list of specified prescription medicines that designated podiatrist prescribers can prescribe from. In developing the list of specified prescription medicines, the Director-General must consult with those organisations or bodies that appear to the Director-General to be representative of persons likely to be substantially affected by the publication of the list of specified prescription medicines. The Ministry undertook a consultation on the Podiatrists Board’s proposed specified prescription medicines list from 13 November to 20 December 2024. This Report provides details on the process to arrive at the list of prescription medicines considered appropriate for designated podiatrist prescribers.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the 2023/24 Financial Year Report and Inventory
This document provides the report and inventory for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora (the Ministry) for the financial year 2023/24 (1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024).

Health Sector Initiative

Roots of Resilience suicide prevention stream
The aim of the Roots of Resilience stream was to discover ancestral insights for preventing suicide and to empower and equip Pasifika communities with culturally relevant knowledge and tools to prevent suicide and respond safely and effectively when a suicide occurs.

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.