Young peoples relationships with Primary Health Care: Results from the 200607 New Zealand Health Sur

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Young peoples relationships with Primary
Health Care Results from the 2006/07 New
Zealand Health Survey
A presentation for Involve08 Relate
National Youth Development Conference
July 2008 Sarah Gerritsen with statistical
analyses by Miranda Devlin
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Overview

• Introduction to the Health Survey
• Young peoples engagement with primary health
  care
• Young peoples use of GPs in the past 12 months
• Access to GPs (unmet need)
• Their experiences of primary health care

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What is the 2006/07 NZ Health Survey?

• A survey repeated by the Ministry of Health to
  monitor the health of the population
• Over 17,000 New Zealanders of all ages (including
  1137 young people aged 15-24 years)
• Participants were randomly selected and
  interviewed in their home throughout New Zealand
  October 2006 November 2007
• Response rates 68 adults and 71 children
• Included topics from health behaviours to health
  conditions and use of health care services

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Engagement with primary health care (i)

• 89 of 15-24 year olds had a primary health care
  provider they went to first when they felt unwell
  or injured

Their primary health care provider was generally
a GP clinic (see graph) Asian young people were
more likely to go to a student health
service Pacific and Maori were more likely to go
to a GP clinic, compared to all young people
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Engagement with primary health care (ii)

• Top reasons for choosing their primary health
  care provider?
• They were the closest (45.8)
• Referred to them by a relative/friend (39.3)
• It was cheaper than others (10.7)
• One in ten young people (10.5) had changed their
  primary health care provider in the past 12
  months main reason was that they moved to a new
  area (50)

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Use of GPs in past year (i)
Seen a GP in the previous 12 months, by age group
Average (mean) number of visits 15-24 year old
men 2.3 women 3.2 All adults men
3.5 women 4.3
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Use of GPs in past year (ii)
15-24 year olds reason for last visit to GP
(multiple response)
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Access to GPs (i)
Unable to see a GP in the past 12 months for any
reason, by age group
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Access to GPs (ii)

• Number of times could not see a GP when needed in
  past 12 months (15-24 year olds)
• once 42 twice 31
• 3 to 5 times 20 gt 5 times 8
• Reasons for young peoples unmet need
• didnt want to make a fuss (30)
• cost (23)
• no appointment soon enough or at a suitable time
  (20)
• couldnt spare the time (19)
• it was after hours (12)
• lack of transport (6)

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Access to GPs (iii)

• Maori young people (15-24 year olds) were 1.5
  times more likely than the average to have an
  unmet need for GP in past 12 months (13)
• Maori young people were 3 times more likely than
  the average to say lack of transport was reason
  for unmet need for GP (18)
• Overall, 2 of 15-24 year olds couldnt see a GP
  in the past 12 months when they needed to because
  of cost (same proportion as all adults)
• Maori young people were twice as likely to have
  an unmet need due to cost compared to all young
  people

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Experiences of primary health care
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Summary

• Young peoples engagement with primary health
  care in New Zealand is very good 90 have a
  place to go and 75 have seen a GP in the past
  year
• They see GPs for a variety of reasons, mostly
  short-term health conditions young men more
  likely to go for an injury, young women for
  contraception
• 20-24 year olds most likely of any age group to
  be unable to see a GP when they need to, for a
  variety of reasons, including cost cost is
  particularly an issue for young Maori
• Young people report good experiences of care at
  their primary health care provider but there is
  room for improvement in relationship building
  (listening, discussing health care options)

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For more information on the New Zealand Health
Survey

• www.moh.govt.nz/phi/surveys/NZHS
• Look for the key findings report
• A Portrait of Health on the website