'Ethnicity is an evidence-based marker of need', public health physicians say

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-09-27 00:01

New Zealand

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Citing long-standing evidence that ethnicity is a stronger marker of need than other characteristics, public health physicians say that using characteristics of individuals or groups to assess health risk is a 'fundamental tool of medicine', similar to how breast cancer screening is funded for women over a particular age. According to the NZ Medical Journal editorial, suggestions that personal or population characteristics should not be used in health services are an 'attack on evidence-based medicine'. The authors say the presence of continued inequities for Māori in life expectancy, exposure to risk factors, healthcare access, and outcomes, is evidence that Māori needs are not being met. The editorial concludes there is a need for strengthening of ethnicity data and for health professionals to 'remain true' to evidence-based principles.

Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

The Government recently issued a directive to make it harder for government agencies to target services based on ethnicity. The Government is concerned that ethnicity is being used as a proxy for need. We outline why the Government’s directive is unscientific and dangerous. Science tells us that ethnicity is actually the strongest marker we have of health need—far better than deprivation or rurality. The directive will undermine efforts to reduce health inequities and will result in wasteful health spending by limiting our ability to target resources at those in greatest need.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Auckland, University of Otago

Funder: N/A

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