Pilot study of methods for assessing unmet secondary health care need in New Zealand
Philip Bagshaw, Susan Bagshaw, Christopher Frampton, Robin Gauld, Terri Green, Charlotte Harris, Andrew Hornblow, Ben Hudson, Antony Raymont, Ann Richardson, Carl Shaw, Les Toop
There is growing concern about the number of people who are unable to access hospital treatment for non-urgent conditions, including mental, medical, surgical and dental problems. Some studies have indicated that the number of people with such unmet need might be large. However, there is dispute about what is the best method for measuring it.
The present study compared four possible methods in population groups from Auckland and Christchurch. One estimate came for numbers of patients seen by GPs in their routine clinics; three methods included population surveys by face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews and internet surveys. Results from our study indicated that the best method for use in this country would be a population survey along a similar line to the New Zealand Health Survey, which only collects information on primary health statistics. We conclude that a national survey of all district health boards is needed to accurately estimate the level of unmet need for non-urgent hospital level care. This will require large random sample sizes to cover all ethnic and socio-economic groups around the country.
