Issue 342 - 18 May 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.

Health Equity (New Zealand)

Rural Indigenous Experiences of Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review
Indigenous peoples experience significant health inequities compared to non-Indigenous peoples. The reasons for this are multi-faceted. Access to healthcare for marginalised Indigenous peoples is made more difficult by living rurally; urban counterparts have improved healthcare access and health outcomes. This review, published in The Australian Journal of Rural Health, aimed to further understand the healthcare experiences of rural Indigenous peoples residing in New Zealand (Aotearoa), Australia, Canada or the United States of America (USA).

Interventions to improve Cultural Safety in healthcare in CANZUS countries: a systematic mixed studies review of First Nations Peoples' experiences
Assessing patient perspectives is fundamental to determining whether anti-racism and cultural training programs and services associated with an intervention achieve their intended outcomes, yet reviews frequently focus on health provider perspectives. This systematic review, published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, aimed to investigate First Nations Peoples' experiences, as patients, of interventions to improve their Cultural Safety and experiences in secondary and tertiary healthcare settings.

The impact of cultural concordance between health professionals and patients: a narrative review
The aim of this article, published in The New Zealand Medical Journal, is to summarise international evidence on the impacts of cultural/ethnic concordance between patients and health professionals and to discuss the implications for New Zealand.

Cancer Services (New Zealand)

Pre-diagnostic route reported by patients with sarcoma from the Netherlands, the UK, Australia and New Zealand: early detection challenges for general practitioners - an international observational cohort study
The objective of this study, published in BMJ Open, was to investigate how patients with sarcoma present prior to diagnosis-through a general practitioner (GP) or another healthcare professional (HCP)-and describe presenting symptoms.

Emergency Department Services (International)

Overcrowding Indicators in Emergency Departments Across Countries: Scoping Review
Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a persistent global health issue associated with adverse patient outcomes, diminished staff performance, and compromised health-system efficiency. Despite widespread recognition of the problem, there is no universally accepted approach to monitoring ED overcrowding. The use of disparate, nonstandardised indicators hampers cross-country comparison and the development of effective policies. A comprehensive synthesis of indicators currently used is essential to guide the adoption of robust, evidence-based metrics across diverse health care settings. This study, published in Interactive Journal of Medical Research, aims to identify, consolidate, and categorise indicators that have been used internationally to assess ED overcrowding and to highlight gaps in their use.

Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (New Zealand)

Multimorbidity and cardiovascular prevention in primary care: Cohort study in New Zealand
Multimorbidity adds complexity to medication management. National guidelines in New Zealand (NZ) recommend dual therapy with blood-pressure- and lipid-lowering agents for most patients at five-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk ≥15% (high risk), considered at 5-14% (intermediate risk), and not generally recommended at <5% (low risk). The aim of this study, published in The British Journal of General Practice, was to examine the association between multimorbidity and dispensing of dual therapy across risk strata.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

Gender Differences in the Longitudinal Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Perceived Social Support
The benefits of social connections for well-being are often assumed, yet few studies test whether social support predicts mental health over extended periods nor whether these effects are experienced equally across women and men. This study, published in Applied Psychology - Health and Well-Being, examined gender differences in the longitudinal associations between perceived social support and psychological distress.

Problematic usage of the internet: A policy map of the use of internet and its possible mental health consequences in adolescents across United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand
This work, published in Comprehensive Psychiatry, analyses policies related to the Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) and its relationships to adolescent mental health across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.

Primary Mental Health (International)

Co-Designing and Evaluating a Suicide Prevention Workshop for General Practice and Community Staff in Rural South Australia
The objective of this study, published in The Australian Journal of Rural Health, was to co-design, deliver and evaluate a suicide prevention workshop aimed at improving the knowledge, skills and confidence of general practice and community staff in rural South Australia.

Increased Immunisation (New Zealand)

Tailoring the Australian vaccine barriers assessment tool (VBAT) for Aotearoa New Zealand: Using a local equity approach
There is need for international tools to measure and monitor childhood immunisation programme uptake, validated specifically for local country context. Childhood vaccine coverage has declined in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) since 2016, especially for Māori and Pacific Peoples. The objective of this study, published in Vaccine, was to adapt the Australian Vaccine Barriers Assessment Tool (VBAT) for ANZ context, to support improvement of vaccination coverage, particularly for Māori and Pacific Peoples children.

Increased Immunisation (International)

Improving childhood vaccination among minority populations in middle- and high-income countries: a realist review of health system interventions
Most minority populations in Europe generally exhibit lower childhood vaccine uptake compared with the general population. Improving uptake in these populations requires contextually tailored interventions. This realist review, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, aimed to identify interventions effective at improving measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake among underserved communities.

Smoking Cessation (New Zealand)

Smoking cessation intervention for Indigenous pregnant women: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
The objective of this systematic review, published in Preventive Medicine Reports, was to synthesise evidence on smoking cessation interventions among pregnant Indigenous women.

Smoking Cessation (International)

Helping teens quit: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of smoking cessation interventions
Adolescent smoking remains a significant public health concern. Effective smoking cessation interventions tailored for adolescents are essential, yet evidence comparing different strategies remains limited. The aim of this systematic review, published in Public Health in Practice, was to compare the effectiveness of various smoking cessation interventions for adolescents using a network meta-analysis approach.

Vaping cessation interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes, have surged in popularity. While long-term risks remain unclear, known dangers include nicotine addiction, E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury and potential extrapulmonary effects on the heart, immune system and neurodevelopment. Addressing ENDS addiction may require strategies akin to smoking cessation. However, evidence is lacking; there are no currently approved vaping-cessation aids. The objective of this review, published in Tobacco Control, is to summarise the available literature addressing interventions for vaping cessation.

Oral Health (New Zealand)

Deploying Oral Health Therapists in Aged Residential Care in New Zealand: A Pilot Study
The proportion of older New Zealanders entering aged residential care facilities with at least some of their natural dentition remaining is steadily increasing, and high dental caries increments are evident in that setting, with important implications for quality of life. The objective of this study, published in Gerodontology, was to determine the effectiveness of a clinical intervention in aged residential care delivered by oral health therapists.

Oral Health (International)

Decolonising Global Oral Health for Health Equity: A Scoping Review of the Global North Literature
Dentistry presents itself as neutral and technical, yet its institutions and curricula remain shaped by colonial legacies. Decolonisation is both a concept and a process that seeks to dismantle these legacies and restore legitimacy to marginalised histories, knowledge, and cultures. This review, published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, mapped literature on colonial impacts and decolonisation pathways in global oral health, providing a foundation for future dialogue.

Health Sector Initiative

Primary Health Care Resource for Adults with Long COVID
Long COVID is a complex, multisystem, physical disease that can severely limit a person’s daily functioning and quality of life. People with long COVID want a whānau ora, holistic approach to management. This resource aims to investigate what an optimal Long COVID service located in primary care encompasses, using a co-design methodology. A video explaining the underlying methodology and methods is available here.

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.