Ministry of Health Library

Health Improvement and Innovation Digest

Issue 219 - 8 October 2020

Welcome to the fortnightly Health Improvement and Innovation Digest (formerly the HIIRC 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.

Health Equity (New Zealand)

Patient characteristics and predictors of completion of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme in Auckland, New Zealand
Chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are a worldwide public health problem. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a gold-standard intervention for these diseases, yet attendance and completion rates are poor. Counties Manukau Health, in Auckland, New Zealand, has a high prevalence of chronic respiratory disease and a culturally diverse population, comprising large numbers of Māori and Pacific Island people, who are known to be disproportionately affected by chronic respiratory disease. The aim of this study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, was to investigate patient characteristics affecting engagement with the Counties Manukau Health pulmonary rehabilitation programme and identify factors predicting completion of the programme. Significant differences were found between groups in demographic and clinical characteristics. Compared to European people, Māori were 52% less likely and Pacific Island people were 40% less likely to complete the programme.

Quality Improvement (International)

Closing the loop on test results to reduce communication failures: a rapid review of evidence, practice and patient perspectives
Communication failures involving test results contribute to issues of patient harm and sentinel events. This article, published in BMC Health Services Research, aims to synthesise review evidence, practice insights and patient perspectives addressing problems encountered in the communication of diagnostic test results.

Cancer Services (New Zealand)

Barriers and facilitators to colorectal cancer diagnosis in New Zealand: a qualitative study
New Zealand (NZ) has high rates of colorectal cancer but low rates of early diagnosis. Due to a lack of understanding of the pre-diagnostic experience from the patient’s perspective, it is necessary to investigate potential patient and health system factors that contribute to longer diagnostic intervals. Previous qualitative studies have discussed delays using The Model of Pathways to Treatment, but this has not been explored in the NZ context. This study, published in BMC Family Practice, aimed to understand the patient experience and perception of their general practitioner (GP) through the diagnostic process in the Waikato region of NZ. In particular, we sought to investigate potential barriers and facilitators that contribute to longer diagnostic intervals.

Cancer Services (International)

Optimal Care Pathways for People with Lung Cancer- a Scoping Review of the Literature
Much of the existing work around implementation of cancer optimal care pathways (OCP) has either focused exclusively on the clinical elements of care or has targeted individual stages in the cancer trajectory, rather than using a patient-centred or service delivery lens to inform the integration of care across the continuum. This review, published in the International Journal of Integrated Care, aimed to identify and summarise the available literature on lung cancer OCP.

Primary Health Care (New Zealand)

Chronic pain: good management of practical pain control strategies is associated with being older, more health activated and having better mental health
Chronic pain affects a large proportion of the adult population and people in pain need to learn how to manage it in order to maintain quality of life. This study, published in the Journal of Primary Health Care, aimed to examine how well people with long-term conditions make use of self-management strategies to control their pain, and to identify personal attributes associated with a higher degree of success.

Primary Health Care (International)

Interventions for prudent antibiotic use in primary healthcare: an econometric analysis
Rational antibiotic prescribing is crucial to combat antibiotic resistance. Optimal strategies to improve antibiotic use are not known. Strama, the Swedish strategic program against antibiotic resistance, has been successful in reducing antibiotic prescription rates. This study, published in BMC Health Services Research, investigates whether two specific interventions directed toward healthcare centers, an informational visit and a self-evaluation meeting, played a role in observed reduction in rates of antibiotic prescriptions in primary healthcare.

Primary Mental Health (International)

Brief Behavioral Interventions for Substance Use in Adolescents: A Meta-analysis
Adolescents with problematic substance use (SU) are at risk for far-reaching adverse outcomes. The objective of meta-analysis, published in Pediatrics, was to synthesize the evidence regarding the effects of brief behavioral interventions for adolescents (12–20 years) with problematic SU.

Social prescribing for individuals with mental health problems: a qualitative study of barriers and enablers experienced by general practitioners
There is growing evidence for the use of social prescribing as a means to improve the mental health of patients. This paper, published in BMC Family Practice, explores the barriers and enablers faced by General Practitioners (GPs) when engaging in social prescribing for patients with mental health problems.

Better Help for smokers to Quit (New Zealand)

Patterns of Use of Vaping Products among Smokers: Findings from the 2016–2018 International Tobacco Control (ITC) New Zealand Surveys
Alternative nicotine products like e-cigarettes could help achieve an end to the epidemic of ill health and death caused by smoking. However, in-depth information about their use is often limited. This study, published in the International Journal of Environment Research and Public Health, investigated patterns of use of e-cigarettes and attitudes and beliefs among smokers and ex-smokers in New Zealand (NZ), a country with an ‘endgame’ goal for smoked tobacco.

Weight Management (New Zealand)

Māori experiences of bariatric surgery in South Auckland, New Zealand
Access to publicly funded bariatric surgery in New Zealand is limited, but privileges patients who identify as New Zealand European or Other European. This example of institutional racism in the New Zealand health system further reiterates that Māori face inequitable access to gold standard medical interventions. This article, published in AlterNative, analyses semi-structured interviews undertaken with Māori who had bariatric surgery at Counties Manukau Health which houses the largest public bariatric service.

Oral Health (International)

Motivational interviewing for preventing early childhood caries: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
This systematic review with meta‐analysis, published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, was performed to assess whether motivational interviewing (MI) is effective in the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC) and to examine potential sources of heterogeneity.

Disability Services

Self-management interventions for people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review
People with intellectual disabilities (ID) often experience difficulties managing their affairs. This study, published in Patient Education and Counseling, reviewed self-management interventions for people with mild to moderate ID, studying interventions’ effectiveness and applied behavioural change techniques (BCTs).

Key Ministry of Health Publications

Immunisation Handbook 2020
The Immunisation Handbook 2020 provides clinical guidelines for health professionals on the safest and most effective use of vaccines in their practice. These guidelines are based on the best scientific evidence available at the time of publication, from published and unpublished literature.

2020 National Immunisation Schedule Changes Guide
This 2020 immunisation schedule changes guide is intended to be a reference to the 2020 schedule changes for use by immunisation providers who will be most affected by these changes.

District Health Board Initiative

Virtual visiting brings joy to rest home residents
A two-way partnership between Stortford Lodge Rotary club, and Hawke’s Bay District Health Board has brought virtual visitor technology to Napier’s Roseanne Retirement Home.

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.