Issue 324 - 12 June 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)

Mental health and wellbeing of ethnic migrant women and girls in Aotearoa New Zealand: a scoping review
This scoping review, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, was to identify and synthesise the literature on mental health and wellbeing of Asian and MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American and African) women and girls in Aotearoa New Zealand (New Zealand).

Nutrition & Physical Activity (International)

Physical activity strategies for preventing school-aged children's overweight and obesity: a systematic review
This systematic review, published in the Journal of Public Health Policy, examined physical activity recommendations and strategies within clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for preventing overweight and obesity in children aged 5-17.

Public Health (International)

The intersection of the social determinants of health and antimicrobial resistance in human populations: a systematic review
This review, published in BMJ Global Health, identified the need to develop policies and context-specific solutions to manage upstream determinants, include population groups where current evidence is limited and prioritise community-based research using co-production methods.

Cancer Services (International)

Nurse navigation for older adults with cancer: A scoping review
Nurse navigation is important in cancer care, with prior studies indicating improvements in quality of life and symptom management. This review, published in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology, sought to understand the scope of literature on nurse navigation for older adults with cancer. Specifically, it aimed to understand the characteristics, roles, and services nurse navigators provide for older adults with cancer.

Emergency Department Services (International)

Enhancing emergency department triage for older patients: a prospective study on the integration of the identification of seniors at risk
Older adults are a growing demographic in emergency departments (EDs) worldwide, yet traditional triage systems often fail to account for their unique risks, leading to under-triage and adverse outcomes. This study, published in BMC Emergency Medicine, examines the Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) tool and its use in emergency departments.

Evaluation of a Novel Clinical Assistant Model of Care on Patient Flow and Emergency Department Length of Stay
The objective of this study, published in Emergency Medicine Australasia, was to measure the contribution of clinical assistants (CAs) to departmental flow and length of stay.

Interventions to reduce wait times in emergency departments in Canadian hospitals: A scoping review
Prolonged wait times in Canada's Emergency Departments (EDs) adversely impact patients, hospital staff, and the healthcare system. Despite the growing literature on ED wait times in Canada, our understanding of what strategies work to reduce wait time remains sporadic due to the absence of a current, comprehensive mapping of the interventions implemented within EDs. This scoping review, published in Public Health, aims to address this gap and map ED interventions in Canada.

Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (International)

The effect of a holistic nurse coaching intervention on glycemic control, diabetes self-management, and empowerment: a randomized controlled trial
Self-management and empowerment are critical components in the treatment of diabetes, a chronic condition that has become an increasingly significant global health issue. While standard diabetes education is essential for effective disease management, personalized interventions aligned with the patient’s preferences are also necessary. This study, published in BMC Nursing, explores the integration of coaching approaches into chronic disease management.

Primary Health Care (International)

Community care navigation intervention for people who are at risk of unplanned hospital presentations
Care navigation is a type of care co‐ordination used to manage people with chronic conditions with the goal of reducing unplanned hospital presentations and improving patient care and outcomes. Care navigation involves individual case management by a trained professional who is not involved in the person’s direct care. Care navigation has been used in various healthcare settings, adopted as a single or multi‐component intervention by different health services. However, little is known about its effect on unplanned hospital presentations and patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs). The objective of this Cochrane Review was to assess the effects of care navigation, delivered in the community, on hospital presentations and patient‐reported outcome measures in people at risk of unplanned hospital presentations.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

Child and adolescent mental health services in Aotearoa New Zealand
This paper, published in BJPsych International, aims to give an overview of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Aotearoa New Zealand.

‘I can sleep at night’: examining the intersection of housing stability, addiction, and recovery among mothers who use drugs
This study, published in Kōtuitui, explored research on the housing crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand and its intersection with mothers who have substance use disorders.

Increased Immunisation (International)

Effective strategies in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination interventions to increase uptake in rural, low socioeconomic, indigenous and migrant populations: A scoping review
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is a key strategy to reduce HPV-related cancers such as cervical cancer. Rural, low socioeconomic status, ethnic minority, Indigenous and migrant populations often experience inequity when accessing HPV vaccination. This scoping review, published in Vaccine, searched six databases for intervention studies which measured the uptake of HPV vaccination of rural, low SES, ethnic minority, Indigenous or migrant adolescent-young adult population.

Policy recommendations for healthcare authorities, organizations and professionals on vaccine hesitancy in Europe: From evidence to practice
Vaccine hesitancy presents significant challenges to public health, exacerbated by a lack of cohesive policies in Europe. Recognized as a complex social phenomenon influenced by various factors, vaccine hesitancy threatens health systems and public trust. This paper, published in Health Policy, analyses the political background and current gaps in policies addressing vaccine hesitancy, with a specific focus on the role of healthcare authorities, organizations and professionals in shaping effective responses.

Interventions in primary care to increase uptake of adult vaccines: a systematic review
There is a significant gap in understanding which strategies effectively enhance vaccination rates for recommended adult vaccines in primary care settings. This review, published in the Journal of Public Health, aimed to identify interventions in outpatient clinics that increase vaccination rates for commonly recommended adult vaccines and describe the change in vaccination rate associated with each intervention aimed at increasing vaccination rates in adults.

Oral Health (New Zealand)

Using Māori community aspirations to advocate for oral health integration into diabetes care
Diabetes and periodontal disease are two chronic diseases that disproportionately impact Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, aimed to identify the aspirations of Māori adults with diabetes and their whānau regarding integrating oral health into diabetes management.

Oral Health (International)

Assessment of teledentistry in improving access to dental care: a systematic review
Teledentistry has emerged as a promising approach to improving access to dental care, particularly for underserved populations. This systematic review, published in the Australian Dental Journal, aims to evaluate the effectiveness of teledentistry interventions in enhancing access to dental care.

Key Ministry of Health Publications

Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm 2025/26 to 2027/28
The Ministry of Health is responsible for developing and implementing an ‘integrated problem gambling strategy focused on public health’ as per section 317 of the Gambling Act 2003. The Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm 2025/26 to 2027/28 is the latest of those strategy documents. The strategy sets out the Ministry and Health New Zealand’s approach to, and budget for, funding and coordinating services to prevent and minimise gambling harm during the three year period starting 1 July 2025.

Models of Care for People Living with Long COVID: Evidence brief
Long COVID presents a significant and ongoing health care challenge worldwide, with individuals experiencing prolonged symptoms often requiring comprehensive, multidisciplinary care. Aotearoa New Zealand currently lacks formalised, nationally-coordinated care pathways for Long COVID. This evidence brief synthesises international literature and recent randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to inform the consideration of a locally relevant and equitable model of care.

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. Results are available for geographic areas: health region, district health board (DHB), regional councils, Iwi Māori partnership board (IMPB), and Geographic Classification of Health (GCH). Within these areas, results are broken down by gender, age group, ethnic group, deprivation level, and disability status (adults only).

Health Sector Initiative

Ingenious: a podcast about research for a better world
A new podcast, Ingenious, wants to take you behind the headlines and explore some of the big questions researchers from the University of Auckland are asking. In the first five episodes host Nikki Mandow, an award- winning journalist, talks to researchers and explains why their work matters.

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.