ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2021
The enrolment gap: who is not enrolling with primary health organizations in Aotearoa New Zealand and what are the implications? An exploration of 2015-2019 administrative data.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Uptake of patient enrolment in primary care and associated factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- An Equity-Driven Analysis of the Implications of Attachment and Attachment Readiness Within Primary Care Healthcare Systems in Canada.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Increasing Underrepresentation of Pacific Peoples in Community-Based Respiratory Surveillance in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2018-2024.Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand · 2026Article
- Disparities in the Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccination Between Māori and Non-Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand.Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand · 2026Article
- New Zealand Electronic Health Data for Cardiovascular Research: A Review.Clinical epidemiology · 2026Review
- The impact of patient enrolment in primary care on continuity and quality of care around the world, 2014-2024, and lessons for Australia: a scoping review.The Medical journal of Australia · 2025Article
- Observational
- Te Oranga Pūkahukahu research programme: intentional steps towards a national equity-focused lung cancer screening programme in Aotearoa New Zealand.Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand · 2025Article
- Financial barriers to primary health care in Aotearoa New Zealand.Family practice · 2024Article
- Selective under-representation of Pacific peoples in population estimates for health indicator measurements in Aotearoa New Zealand misinforms policy making.BMC public health · 2024Article
- How do children's hospitals address health inequalities: a grey literature scoping review.BMJ open · 2024Article
- A multiple case study of pre-diabetes care undertaken by general practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand: de-incentivised and de-prioritised work.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Herpes zoster vaccine effectiveness against herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in New Zealand: a retrospective cohort study.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Article
- Consequences of barriers to primary health care for children in Aotearoa New Zealand.SSM - population health · 2022Article
- Article
- Ethnic Inequity in the Current Approach to H. pylori Testing and Treatment: Linked Data Cohort Analysis.HelicobacterArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrimary Health Care (PHC) is the entry point to accessing health services in many countries. Having a high proportion of the population enrolled with a PHC provider is key to ensuring PHC fulfils this role and that it contributes to achieving better equity in health. We aimed to understand the extent to which people in Aotearoa New Zealand are enrolling with Primary Health Organizations (PHOs), how enrolment rates have evolved over time, and variations across District Health Boards (DHBs) and socio-demographic groups.
methodsWe analysed administrative data on the proportion of people enrolled in PHOs and breakdowns across DHBs, and by age, ethnicity and deprivation, for the years 2015-2019.
resultsAbout 6% of the population was not enrolled in 2019. There are persistent differences across socio-demographic groups as well as geographically. Māori have lower enrolment rates than New Zealand European/Other groups. Young people (15-24 years) are the least likely to be enrolled. The most affluent areas have the highest enrolment rates. Auckland DHB shows the lowest enrolment rates.
conclusionsEnrolments remain below full population coverage and inequities exist between socio-demographic and geographic groups. Potential reasons explaining these trends include methodological limitations as well as real issues in accessing services. We recommend (a) work towards minimising data issues in relation to this indicator to improve its accuracy and value in signalling trends in access to PHC services, and (b) investigating the reasons for the potential widening of the inequities identified, in particular issues preventing Māori and younger people from enrolling. This study deepens our understanding of enrolment rates as an indicator for tracking equity in PHC. Other countries can learn from the Aotearoa New Zealand case to draw lessons for improving equity in health care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.