Work Programme - Rural Communities and Health

Work Programme
Rural Communities and Health

Fourteen percent of New Zealanders live in rural areas. It is often said the rural sector is the barometer of the New Zealand’s economy, and indicates the wellbeing and standard of living of the majority of New Zealanders.

The Rural Communities and Health project emerged as a result of the NHC visits to different rural regions around the country. The committee visited the Tairawhiti region in 2005, the West Coast in 2004, Te Tai Tokerau in 2001 and the Wairarapa in 2006. They heard from the people living and working in these sparsely populated areas about a number of challenges in co-ordinating and delivering health care services in rural areas. At the same time the rural attitude of ‘where there is a will there is a way’ highlighted a determination to explore ideas and innovations, to ensure their health and disability needs are met.

Four DHB areas that reflect New Zealand’s diverse rural contexts have been selected for this project, to look at what is working well. The focus is on identifying emerging innovations and existing approaches which are improving access to services, reducing health inequalities among different population groups and are potentially transferable to other rural areas.

The project uses an adaptation of the NHC and Ministry of Health Frameworks for Quality Improvement to assess rural innovations. Sustainability is a key factor in successful rural developments, along with effectiveness, efficiency and safety. The NHC is undertaking community consultation visits in each of the selected four DHB regions, to seek perspectives from a wide range of people, groups and service providers. This includes PHOs, NGOs, DHBs, health professionals, disability services and consumers.

Questions
The project team would value your response to two broad questions to assist in informing the project. You can write as much or as little as you like. Please send to Nhc_Info@nhc.govt.nz. Although you may not receive a direct response, you can be assured that your contribution will be considered carefully to help inform the project.

1) What are the two biggest problems faced by people living in rural areas (places where the population is less than 1000 in the local settlement) in getting the health services they need?

2) If you have heard of any local projects or solutions to these problems that seem to be working, tell us about them. What exactly is it that seems to make them work? How can we find out more about them?

Please tell us something about yourself. Do you live in a rural area? Are you a health provider or official? Are you a user of one of these services? Your response will remain anonymous to the public but please include your contact details so that we can follow up with you if required.

Thank you for your feedback.