People, whānau and communities are at the heart of our health system.
We can’t deliver the right services or achieve the right outcomes without putting people, communities and whānau at the centre of our thinking, planning and service delivery.
Since 1 December 2022, we’ve been hearing from people all over the motu about what they want to see in the transforming health system.
People have shared their thoughts, ideas and aspirations online, face-to-face and in submissions.
The focus of our engagement was to hear thoughts and ideas from you, the people these strategies are for, as well as people working in the health and disability system.
We did this by taking a new approach to engagement, focusing on meeting people where they are, using the channels they are comfortable with, and reporting back to them as we go.
What we heard
Engagement and research to date has steered us towards some emerging themes about how to achieve pae ora and health equity. Analysis of the engagement records will continue but some themes have emerged so far.
Emerging themes
Consumer voice is key – The voices of people, whānau and communities are key to changing the system. These voices are rarely heard, however, and many people face barriers engaging with public services.
Redefining health – A narrow focus on ‘health’ limits holistic responses that improve wellbeing. Public services are constrained by structures and rules that do not support collaboration in the interests of populations.
New models are needed – New workforce and care models need to be prioritised. A ‘one size fits all approach’ does not meet the needs of many people and legacy models and methods of providing services are inflexible and hard to shift.
Values matter – Changing mindsets is crucial to changing outcomes. The values of agencies and their workforces inform behaviours and decision-making and are key to overcoming bias.
Access – Barriers to access remains a critical issue, especially for populations who tend to have poorer health outcomes.
Record
While our engagement is aimed at the development of the strategies, we intend it to be the beginning of a much longer conversation with the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
We have built an enduring record of the responses we receive from engagement on the Pae Ora strategies so our health system can continue to use and build upon the responses as the reforms progress.
The records of the complete engagement programme will also be available to inform further work across the reforming health system including the development of the New Zealand Health Plan and the Government Policy Statement.
Our engagement programme
Face-to-face engagements
We held more than 140 face-to-face engagements; 42 Fono with Pacific communities and stakeholders, 4 two-day wānanga with Māori (in Whangārei, Kirikiriroa, Pōneke and Ōtepoti), and 30 sessions with ethnic communities.
We also held targeted community engagements, via 1:1 interviews and small group sessions.
On social media
Over the course of our engagement on social media, we reached over 1 million New Zealanders. We asked 37 questions, had 35 000 engagements and received over 8700 comments.
The online engagement programme focused on trusted voices and existing ‘safe spaces’ to reach audiences that Manatū Hauora traditionally does not engage with.
We wanted to provide a quick and easy avenue for people who may not ordinarily be able, or invited, to share their views, thoughts and aspirations about what matters to them about health care in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Our online engagement targeted multiple segments of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population. In addition to social media, we have also used selected radio networks (and their social channels) with reach into specific target audiences.
Engagement on social media began by providing yes/no polling questions. We then used responses to drive deeper engagement with key topics. This allowed us to test, validate and deepen people’s responses on topics they told us matter to them.
You can read some of the posts on our Facebook or Instagram pages: Oū huatau hauora | Your thoughts on health.
The discussion on Tātou – our online discussion space
Between December 1 and April 30, over 1000 people registered for Tātou. They shared more than 230 ideas and made more than 530 comments.
We opened our first discussion Achieving pae ora (healthy futures) on 1 December 2022. We asked people to share their experiences of good health and what helps or gets in the way of being or feeling well and healthy.
In 2023, we opened 4 more discussions, asking people their thoughts on:
- whānau ora and what helps keep your family well and healthy and what we can do to keep it that way
- wai ora and how having a healthy environment helps you, your family and community be well
- your experience of the health reforms, what’s working well, what should we do more of
- what we need to change to have an ideal system in the future.
You can still read all the ideas and comments that have been posted.
Submissions
Over the course of the engagement programme, we received around 900 submissions. Just over 700 were on the Women’s health strategy alone.
Next steps
We are now finalising the analysis of the engagement records. We expect this to be completed by the end of May. An engagement report, summarising who we spoke to and what we heard will be published.
Between May and June, the strategies are being drafted. Some targeted engagement with the health sector and other community groups may also be undertaken.
The strategies will be published in July.
Privacy policy
The thoughts and ideas that people shared will be used and protected according to the Ministry of Health's privacy policy.
You may want to review this policy with someone.