The Ministry of Health aims to ensure that the health and disability support system works for all New Zealanders. The Ministry performs a number of roles in addition to being the key advisor and support to the Minister of Health. It retains centralised funding for a range of national services, including disability support and public health services.
Ministry of Health's website
Data collection: Mortality Collection
Purpose / objective
The Mortality Collection provides data for public health research, policy formulation, development and monitoring, and cancer survival studies. A complete dataset of each year’s cause of death data is sent to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be used in international comparisons of mortality statistics.
Description of key content, including relevance to injury
Covers all deaths registered in New Zealand, including all registered foetal deaths
Start date of data collection
1988. Data from 1970 to 1987 is also available on request.
Frequency of data collection
Ongoing since 1988. Data is published annually by year of death registration.
Methods of data collection
Each month the Births, Deaths and Marriages Office (BDM) sends the Ministry of Health electronic death registration and electronic stillbirth information data (for the previous month’s registrations). Funeral directors forward medical certificates of causes of death (HP4720 and HP4721) to the Ministry of Health after burial/cremation of deceased persons. District coroners' offices send in interim and final coroners’ reports on cause of death (and postmortem reports where available), for deaths notified to the coroner (generally sudden unexpected deaths).
Additional information about underlying cause of death is obtained from hospital discharge data on the National Minimum Dataset (NMDS), the New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR), the Coronial Services Unit (CSU), Land Transport NZ, Water Safety NZ, the Internet, and from certifying doctors and health information release officers in public hospitals.
Description of the injury data collected
If death was as a result of injury, the specific external cause of the injury is coded as the underlying cause of death. In addition all serious injuries and the type of location in which the injury occurred are classified. If the injury occurred during sport or other recreational activity, or was the result of a workplace accident, then the type of activity is coded as well. The place of death is also recorded.
Coding system used to classify the injury data
The underlying cause of death, and certain contributing causes (including injuries), are classified using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), 6th Edition. The selection of the 'underlying cause' is made in accordance with the WHO's ICD-10, 2008 Edition, mortality coding rules and guidelines. External causes of death are classified to codes in Chapter 20, and all serious injuries are classified to codes in Chapter 19 of ICD-10-AM, 6th Edition.
Potential weaknesses
There can be delays in recording causes of death for deaths under coronial investigation. As a consequence, data may be several years old for some causes of death (such as suicide) before the coverage of this particular cause is complete. It is anticipated that such delays will be reduced under the re-organised coronial system set up under the Coroners Act 2006.
Access
Publicly available data
The Minister of Health publishes three annual report series: 'Mortality and Demographic Data', 'Fetal and Infant Deaths', and 'Suicide Facts: Deaths and Intentional Self-Harm Hospitalisations'. Requests for customised mortality data extracts can be made via the email address data-enquiries@moh.govt.nz.
Links to data and reports
Mortality and Demographic Data
Fetal and Infant Deaths
Suicide Facts: Deaths and intentional self-harm hospitalisations
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Data collection: New Zealand Alcohol and Drug Use Survey (NZADUS)
Purpose / objective
NZ Health Monitor surveys are used to monitor the health status of New Zealanders and to guide health-related policy. Regular monitoring of alcohol and drug use in the population is essential to observe trends over time and to develop appropriate policy and services to minimise harm.
Description of key content, including relevance to injury
Collects detailed information about alcohol and illicit drug use for recreational purposes among New Zealanders aged 16–64 years. Includes questions about injuries due to the use of alcohol, BZP party pills, cannabis, amphetamines, and/or other drugs.
Start date of data collection
The 2007/08 New Zealand Alcohol and Drug Use Survey (2007/08 ADUS) was the first national survey on the use of alcohol and drugs for recreational purposes carried out by the Ministry of Health. The Centre of Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SHORE) (Massey University) previously carried out national telephone surveys on alcohol use (2004) and drug use (2003), for which the Ministry of Health published the results in 2007.
Frequency of data collection
From 2011, the New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS) and the various surveys that are part of the wider Ministry of Health survey programme (including the NZADUS) will be integrated into a single survey which will be in continuous operation.
The sample design and mode of data collection will be similar to the 2006/07 NZHS (and 2007/08 NZADUS). The survey will comprise a set of consistent core questions combined with a flexible programme of rotating thematic/topic modules. The Ministry of Health is still at the early stages of considering the content for the survey, both in terms of core content and the content and timing of the rotating topic modules. However, given that an alcohol and drug use survey has recently been undertaken (in 2007/08) it is unlikely that an in-depth alcohol and drug use module will be included within the first two years of the survey.
Methods of data collection
The 2007/08 NZADUS used a multi-stage, stratified, probability proportional to size (PPS) sample design, with increased sampling of some ethnic groups, primarily through a ‘screened’ sample. One adult from each selected household was asked to take part. Data was collected through a combination of face-to-face and computer-based questions (the injury questions were asked as part of the computer-based section of the interview).
Description of the injury data collected
The survey collects information about whether respondents have experienced injuries due to alcohol and/or drugs. It also includes questions about physical/sexual assault by someone else under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and asks whether the respondent has been involved in a motor vehicle accident (or other type of accident that caused major injury) that involved someone else's drinking.
Coding system used to classify the injury data
None
Potential weaknesses
- This is a sample survey, so sampling error applies.
- The injury questions are asked through a self-completed computerised interview, thus the information is self-reported and may not be accurate or complete.
Access
Publicly available data
Key results about alcohol use from the 2007/08 New Zealand Alcohol and Drug Use Survey were released on the Ministry of Health's website in October 2009. Key results about drug use were released in January 2010. Researchers may apply to access confidentialised unit record files of the 2007/08 NZADUS, when they become available in 2010.
Links to data and reports
Alcohol Use in New Zealand
Drug Use in New Zealand
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Data collection: Public Health Intelligence Online (PHIOnline)
Purpose / objective
PHIOnline lists the following objectives of its visualisation tool: to aid local agencies to achieve their desired health outcomes, to aid local authorities and health providers to fulfil their responsibilities under the Local Government Act 2002, to reduce the cost of information dissemination, and to make government information more easily available.
Description of key content, including relevance to injury
PHIOnline is a data visualisation tool. It displays an interactive map with linked tables and charts which allow data to be viewed in multiple dimensions. Data provided includes cancer incidence, suicide and self-harm rates, hospitalisations and risk behaviours. Data can be viewed at District Health Board (DHB) level and (where available) at territorial authority level.
Start date of data collection
Datasets are generated from the national collections and population health surveys. Datasets are generated according to need, so coverage and start dates vary by dataset.
Frequency of data collection
Varies by dataset
Methods of data collection
Datasets are generated from the national collections such as the Mortality Collection and NMDS. However, injury datasets do not record secondary admissions, meaning that each injury event is recorded only once.
Description of the injury data collected
Various
Coding system used to classify the injury data
None
Potential weaknesses
The figures collected for PHIOnline are often relatively small, which limits analysis at a disaggregated level.
Access
Publicly available data
Information is presented as a series of interactive atlases on the website.
Links to data and reports
Index of PHIOnline atlases
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Data collection: National Minimum Dataset (NMDS)
Purpose / objective
The National Minimum Dataset is used for policy formation, performance monitoring, research, and review. It provides statistical information, reports, and analyses about the trends in the delivery of hospital inpatient and day patient health services, both nationally and on a provider basis. It is also used for funding purposes.
Description of key content, including relevance to injury
Covers people admitted and discharged from hospitals in New Zealand. If the hospitalisation was due to an injury, or an injury affected treatment, or an injury was sustained during the stay, a diagnosis code should indicate the nature of the injury. An external cause code will indicate the mechanism by which the injury was sustained. Both activity and location codes may also be reported.
Start date of data collection
1988. Data from 1970 to 1987 is also available on request.
Frequency of data collection
Ongoing since 1988.
Methods of data collection
Data is submitted routinely by District Health Boards after the patient has been discharged. Some smaller hospitals, and most private facilities, submit files to a specific private hospitals team at the Ministry who code the received information and load it into the NMDS.
Description of the injury data collected
A diagnosis code indicating the type of injury and external cause codes indicating the mechanism by which the injury was sustained (and potentially location and activity) are recorded.
Coding system used to classify the injury data
The diagnosis and external cause codes are recorded using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases. From July 2008, events have been submitted in the tenth revision, Australian modification, 6th edition (ICD-10-AM-VI).
Potential weaknesses
There are some timeliness issues around data being submitted via the private hospital team (though work is progressing to address these problems). However, as private hospital data has very little injury information, this problem is minimal.
Access
Publicly available data
The Ministry of Health publishes data on its website. Requests for customised hospital data extracts can be made via email to Data-Enquiries@moh.govt.nz.
Links to data and reports
Ministry of Health Data and Statistics: hospital events