Latest news with #EuropeanNewZealanders
Otago Daily Times
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Census scrapped, replaced by 'administrative data'
By Kate Newtown of RNZ New Zealanders have filled out their last traditional Census form, with the five-yearly count scrapped from 2030. Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced today that the Census - which has existed in a similar format for more than 70 years - will be replaced with a combination of administrative data from other government agencies and smaller annual surveys that a sample of the population will complete. There will be no 2028 Census. The change follows a major review carried out last year, after the 2023 Census. Reti said the traditional Census was "no longer financially viable". "Despite the unsustainable and escalating costs, successive censuses have been beset with issues or failed to meet expectations," he said. An attempt to shift the Census online in 2018 was a failure, with much lower than normal completion rates that affected Māori particularly badly. The fallout prompted the chief statistician to resign, and the 2023 Census was shifted back to a paper form. However, completion rates were still lower than previous years, with only 88 percent of the population filling out and returning the 2023 form. The Census does more than just provide interesting insights into how New Zealand is changing - it serves some crucial democratic functions. It helps to determine how and where government funding is spent for basic services and infrastructure like hospitals and schools, now and in the future . The population count also determines how many electorates there are, and where their boundaries should be drawn. The Census is also the only nation-wide survey of housing conditions - collecting information on the size of each dwelling, the number of people living there, and which basic services like internet are available. Reti said not only would the new approach save time and money, it would also provide "more timely insights" into New Zealand's population. The most recent Census cost $325 million, and the data analysis involved meant the first results were not released until mid-2024. "By leveraging data already collected by government agencies, we can produce key census statistics every year, better informing decisions that affect people's lives," Reti said. A Census has been held in New Zealand every five years since 1851, with only a few exceptions - most recently following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. This will be the biggest change to how the Census is conducted since 1951, when the same Census form was filled out by Māori and European New Zealanders for the first time. Administrative data would form the "backbone" of the new system, with surveys helping to fill in data gaps, especially for smaller populations. The administrative data used would include information from tax records, education enrolments, health data, student loans and allowances and ACC injury claims. Some statisticians and demographers have warned that any move away from a traditional Census that attempts to count and survey the entire population will need to be done carefully and transparently. Last year, a group of senior researchers at the Public Health Communications Centre - many of whom rely on Census data for their work - said there was a role for administrative data. However, it had been shown to "not be up to the task in many areas, such as understanding households or people's health and well-being, compared with survey data", they wrote.
Scoop
04-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Multiple Sclerosis Prevalence On The Sharp Increase: Study
Press Release – University of Auckland The number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in New Zealand increased by a third between 2006 and 2022, according to research from the University of Auckland. The prevalence of multiple sclerosis in New Zealand has sharply risen since 2006, especially in some communities, according to a University of Auckland study. Lead author Dr Natalia Boven, a postdoctoral fellow from the University's COMPASS Research Centre, says the study found the MS prevalence rate had climbed to 96.6 per 100,000 people as of June 2022, an increase from 72.4 per 100,000 in 2006. 'And notably, while European New Zealanders are being diagnosed with MS at a higher rate (132.4 per 100,000), we found MS increased substantially for Māori, Pacific peoples and Asian ethnic groups over the same period,' she says. Boven says Māori rates rose from 15.0 per 100,000 to 33.1 per 100,000 in 2022, the Pacific rate rose to 9.2 per 100,000 and the Asian ethnic group rate increased to 16.0 per 100,000. 'And of concern is the data shows people living in more deprived areas were less likely to be diagnosed with MS,' says Boven. 'This pattern was more pronounced for Māori and Pacific peoples, which suggests they may face barriers accessing services to receive a MS diagnosis.' As a social scientist, she says more research is needed to find out whether this is the case, and what the barriers might be, as an early diagnosis can make all the difference in terms of delaying disease progression and therefore improving quality of life. Experts agree that multiple sclerosis is a manageable and treatable condition in most cases, especially with early diagnosis. Recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, the study was backed by Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand (MSNZ). National manager Amanda Rose says patients regularly report the biggest barriers to diagnosis are a lack of MS awareness in the community, and critical shortages of specialistservices which can delay diagnosis from a couple of weeks to as long as several years in some instances. 'Too many New Zealanders face delays in being diagnosed with MS due to limited access to specialist neurologist appointments and MRI scans,' says Rose. 'The longstanding shortage of neurologists in Aotearoa has created long waiting lists for many people with neurological conditions, including MS. We've been advocating for over ten years to increase our number of neurologists, with little to no progress.' The study used the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) and included anonymous data from hospitalisations, disability support, pharmaceutical dispensing of MS treatments and needs assessments. To build on the study's findings and support targeted advocacy for those with the condition, Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand has now contracted University researchers at COMPASS to expand their scope. They will again be using IDI data to explore the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of people living with MS in Aotearoa; including geographic distribution, education, income, and employment history, access to disability support, allied healthcare, and income support. Identifying multiple sclerosis in linked administrative health data in Aotearoa New Zealand New Zealand Medical Journal.
Scoop
04-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Multiple Sclerosis Prevalence On The Sharp Increase: Study
Press Release – University of Auckland The study found the MS prevalence rate had climbed to 96.6 per 100,000 people as of June 2022, an increase from 72.4 per 100,000 in 2006., Lead author Dr Natalia Boven, a postdoctoral fellow from the Universitys COMPASS Research Centre, says. The number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in New Zealand increased by a third between 2006 and 2022, according to research from the University of Auckland. The prevalence of multiple sclerosis in New Zealand has sharply risen since 2006, especially in some communities, according to a University of Auckland study. Lead author Dr Natalia Boven, a postdoctoral fellow from the University's COMPASS Research Centre, says the study found the MS prevalence rate had climbed to 96.6 per 100,000 people as of June 2022, an increase from 72.4 per 100,000 in 2006. 'And notably, while European New Zealanders are being diagnosed with MS at a higher rate (132.4 per 100,000), we found MS increased substantially for Māori, Pacific peoples and Asian ethnic groups over the same period,' she says. Boven says Māori rates rose from 15.0 per 100,000 to 33.1 per 100,000 in 2022, the Pacific rate rose to 9.2 per 100,000 and the Asian ethnic group rate increased to 16.0 per 100,000. 'And of concern is the data shows people living in more deprived areas were less likely to be diagnosed with MS,' says Boven. 'This pattern was more pronounced for Māori and Pacific peoples, which suggests they may face barriers accessing services to receive a MS diagnosis.' As a social scientist, she says more research is needed to find out whether this is the case, and what the barriers might be, as an early diagnosis can make all the difference in terms of delaying disease progression and therefore improving quality of life. Experts agree that multiple sclerosis is a manageable and treatable condition in most cases, especially with early diagnosis. Recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, the study was backed by Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand (MSNZ). National manager Amanda Rose says patients regularly report the biggest barriers to diagnosis are a lack of MS awareness in the community, and critical shortages of specialistservices which can delay diagnosis from a couple of weeks to as long as several years in some instances. 'Too many New Zealanders face delays in being diagnosed with MS due to limited access to specialist neurologist appointments and MRI scans,' says Rose. 'The longstanding shortage of neurologists in Aotearoa has created long waiting lists for many people with neurological conditions, including MS. We've been advocating for over ten years to increase our number of neurologists, with little to no progress.' The study used the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) and included anonymous data from hospitalisations, disability support, pharmaceutical dispensing of MS treatments and needs assessments. To build on the study's findings and support targeted advocacy for those with the condition, Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand has now contracted University researchers at COMPASS to expand their scope. They will again be using IDI data to explore the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of people living with MS in Aotearoa; including geographic distribution, education, income, and employment history, access to disability support, allied healthcare, and income support.
Scoop
04-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Multiple Sclerosis Prevalence On The Sharp Increase: Study
The number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in New Zealand increased by a third between 2006 and 2022, according to research from the University of Auckland. The prevalence of multiple sclerosis in New Zealand has sharply risen since 2006, especially in some communities, according to a University of Auckland study. Lead author Dr Natalia Boven, a postdoctoral fellow from the University's COMPASS Research Centre, says the study found the MS prevalence rate had climbed to 96.6 per 100,000 people as of June 2022, an increase from 72.4 per 100,000 in 2006. 'And notably, while European New Zealanders are being diagnosed with MS at a higher rate (132.4 per 100,000), we found MS increased substantially for Māori, Pacific peoples and Asian ethnic groups over the same period," she says. Boven says Māori rates rose from 15.0 per 100,000 to 33.1 per 100,000 in 2022, the Pacific rate rose to 9.2 per 100,000 and the Asian ethnic group rate increased to 16.0 per 100,000. 'And of concern is the data shows people living in more deprived areas were less likely to be diagnosed with MS,' says Boven. 'This pattern was more pronounced for Māori and Pacific peoples, which suggests they may face barriers accessing services to receive a MS diagnosis.' As a social scientist, she says more research is needed to find out whether this is the case, and what the barriers might be, as an early diagnosis can make all the difference in terms of delaying disease progression and therefore improving quality of life. Experts agree that multiple sclerosis is a manageable and treatable condition in most cases, especially with early diagnosis. Recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, the study was backed by Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand (MSNZ). National manager Amanda Rose says patients regularly report the biggest barriers to diagnosis are a lack of MS awareness in the community, and critical shortages of specialistservices which can delay diagnosis from a couple of weeks to as long as several years in some instances. 'Too many New Zealanders face delays in being diagnosed with MS due to limited access to specialist neurologist appointments and MRI scans,' says Rose. 'The longstanding shortage of neurologists in Aotearoa has created long waiting lists for many people with neurological conditions, including MS. We've been advocating for over ten years to increase our number of neurologists, with little to no progress.' The study used the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) and included anonymous data from hospitalisations, disability support, pharmaceutical dispensing of MS treatments and needs assessments. To build on the study's findings and support targeted advocacy for those with the condition, Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand has now contracted University researchers at COMPASS to expand their scope. They will again be using IDI data to explore the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of people living with MS in Aotearoa; including geographic distribution, education, income, and employment history, access to disability support, allied healthcare, and income support. by Natalia Boven, Deborah Mason, Barry Milne, Anna Ranta, Andrew Sporle, Lisa Underwood, Julie Winter-Smith, and Vanessa Selak is published in the 28 March edition of the New Zealand Medical Journal.
