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Reducing inequalities

In Northland, as in New Zealand and throughout the rest of the world, inequalities in health exist between groups within the population.

Inequalities can be measured according to:

• socioeconomic status (the poor are worse off than the wealthy)
• ethnicity (Maori, for example, are worse off than non-Maori)
• geographic area (Northland is worse off than New Zealand)
• age (the old are worse off than the young)
• sex (males are worse off than females)

Inequalities are not random. Socially disadvantaged and marginalised groups have poorer health, greater exposure to health risks, and lesser access to health services than their more advantaged counterparts.

Reducing these inequalities is one of the primary aims of the Northland DHB funding and planning team, and one of the key criteria in our prioritisation policy. It is also one of the main reasons why we work with MAPO co-funders. Reducing inequalities is one of the objectives for DHBs in the Public Health and Disability Act 2000 and a priority for the Ministry of Health. NDHB uses two tools developed by the Ministry of Health in defining inequalities and evaluating plans to remedy them – the Reducing Inequalities Framework and the Health Equity Assessment Tool (HEAT).

There is a host of evidence of inequalities. Some examples are contained in this document.

Reducing Inequalities Diagrams 304.13 Kb