Ministry of Health Library - Health Improvement & Innovation Digest
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Issue 344 - 11 June 2026
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.
Māori Innovation
Enacting policy: mapping Kaupapa Māori aspirations onto the New Zealand Eating Issues and Eating Disorders StrategyThe prevalence of Māori experiencing ngā māuiui kai (eating disorders; NMK) is comparable to that of non-Māori. Despite this, little is known about Māori presentations within Kaupapa Māori health services. This paper, published in The New Zealand Medical Journal, uses Kaupapa Māori kaimahi expertise to describe these presentations and identify steps to strengthen access and support.
Ngā māuiui kai (eating disorders) are understood within a Māori worldview as a manifestation of imbalance across hinengaro (mind), tinana (body), wairua (spirit) and whānau (family or support system). Prevailing Western treatment, which prioritise biopsychosocial interventions, do not address the cultural and spiritual determinants of health for Māori, creating a gap in culturally responsive care for Māori. This paper, published in the Frontiers in Psychiatry, proposes that Specialist Supportive Clinical Management, a flexible, patient-centred psychotherapy, provides a unique point of alignment for the integration of Rongoā Māori, the traditional Māori healing system. Rongoā Māori encompasses modalities such as rongoā rākau (herbal remedies), mirimiri/romiromi (physical therapies), puku kōrero (talk therapy), and karakia (incantations/prayer) and offers a framework embedded within Māori knowledge systems.
Hybrid Leadership for Māori Health: A Systematic ReviewThis systematic review, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, synthesises the qualitative literature on Māori leadership to examine how leadership is conceptualised, enacted, and constrained, and what this implies for Aotearoa New Zealand's health system.
Health Equity (New Zealand)
Healthcare Access Experiences of Syrian Refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Qualitative Focus Group StudyDespite Aotearoa New Zealand's commitment to equitable healthcare access, significant barriers persist for refugee populations. This qualitative study, published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, explored healthcare experiences of Syrian refugees through eight focus groups conducted in Wellington and Dunedin.
Health Equity (International)
Barriers to Health Equity and Contributors to Health Disparities Among Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Narrative ReviewIndividuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience persistent health disparities that result in poorer health outcomes, reduced quality of life, and inequitable access to healthcare. This narrative review, published in Future, synthesised existing literature to identify key barriers to health equity and contributors to health disparities among individuals with IDD.
Quality Improvement (New Zealand)
A Comparative Analysis of Hospital-Acquired Complications and Sentinel Event Reporting Across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England, and the United StatesNational health systems evaluate hospital safety and quality by incentivising or mandating the reporting of both hospital-acquired complications (HACs), which are potentially preventable iatrogenic conditions, and sentinel events, which are potentially preventable but severely harmful incidents. The objective of this study, published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, was to describe the landscape of currently reported hospital quality measures across countries.
Quality Improvement (International)
Repositioning for pressure injury prevention in adultsPressure injuries (or pressure ulcers) are localised damage to skin or tissue (or both) occurring over bony prominences, resulting from prolonged pressure or shear forces (or both). Adults receiving care in any healthcare setting can develop pressure injuries. Immobility, malnutrition, and reduced sensation are some known risk factors. Regular repositioning is a theoretically sound prevention strategy that is part of standard patient care. The objective of this Cochrane Review was to evaluate the benefits and harms, and cost‐effectiveness, of repositioning regimens (i.e. repositioning frequencies, position, micromovement) for pressure injury prevention in adults in acute, long‐term, or aged healthcare settings, compared to standard care or another repositioning regimen.
Primary Mental Health (International)
'Taking Time' - Extended mental health consultations in a deprived urban general practice: A retrospective descriptive studyMental health presentations are common in general practice, particularly in socially deprived areas, yet standard consultation times often limit GPs' ability to comprehensively assess and manage patients presenting with diverse emotional concerns. Such work is also difficult to capture in research, which often relies on coded diagnoses or prescribing data. This study, published in PloS One, aimed to describe the nature, management, and outcomes of extended mental health consultations in a deprived urban Irish practice.
Increased Immunisation (International)
Using non-primary care clinical settings to increase HPV vaccination uptake: a scoping reviewDespite evidence that over 90% of HPV-associated cancers can be prevented by the HPV vaccine, vaccination rates remain suboptimal. Specialty clinics that do not traditionally offer HPV vaccination, present an opportunity to improve vaccine uptake among adults. This scoping review, published in Vaccine, evaluates the potential impact of HPV vaccination interventions on HPV-vaccination rates and acceptance in non-primary care settings.
Interventions to improve pre-school vaccination timeliness: a systematic reviewImproving the timeliness of pre-school vaccinations (children aged 0 to 5 years) is an important public health goal to prevent outbreaks and maximise protection during early childhood. Multiple studies have highlighted the need for effective public health interventions to improve timely vaccination, and consequently the overall effectiveness of vaccination programmes. This review, published in Vaccine, aims to synthesise evidence on vaccination timeliness interventions and subsequently provide recommendations to improve pre-school vaccination timeliness in England.
Social capital and vaccine decision-making: A scoping reviewThe term social capital has been widely used in social science to explain how relationships, norms, and shared resources shape opportunities within communities. This concept has gained recent prominence in public health research as scholars seek to understand the social dynamics underlying vaccine decision-making and hesitancy. Guided by major theoretical perspectives of Bourdieu, Coleman, and Putnam, this paper, published in Social Science & Medicine, examines how social capital has been applied to the study of vaccine uptake and synthesises research findings about its influence on vaccination behaviours.
Smoking Cessation (International)
Barriers to the delivery of smoking cessation advice in general dental practice—a scoping reviewAlthough dentists provide dental care to many smokers, the extent to which they provide smoking cessation advice (SCA) is uncertain. This article, published in the Journal of Public Health, reviews current literature identifying the delivery of and barriers to SCA.
Disability Services (New Zealand)
A Window on DisabilityThis report by the Health Quality & Safety Commission brings together community insights and large scale data to show how disabled people experience the health system in New Zealand, revealing significant inequities and opportunities for improvement.
Ministry of Health Consultations & Events
Consultation on developing a specified prescription medicines list for designated paramedic prescribersThe Ministry of Health is inviting submissions on a proposed list of prescription medicines for designated paramedic prescribers. Submissions close Sunday, 5 July 2026 11:59pm.
Health Sector Initiative
New ED referral process to reduce admissions to Rotorua HospitalA new process has started at Rotorua Hospital to support patients who need extra help but not necessarily a hospital bed. Emergency department (ED) staff are referring patients directly to the Supported Transfer and Accelerated Rehabilitation Team (START) to help them return home with a tailored support plan. Known as REACT (Rapid ED Assessment and Community Transition), the new process allows nurses to assess a patient’s suitability and complete a real-time electronic referral to START. The team can then plan a safe and supported return home for the patient.
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.