Access and timeliness
Track access to primary care and specialist services, waiting times and unmet need. Compare reported service measures and note changes in definitions or eligibility.
Policy area · health
Healthy lives.
Care that reaches people.
Assess how health policy, funding and service delivery have changed over roughly 2006–2026—and whether people can access timely, appropriate care. Compare like with like, and make differences in data definitions and system structures visible.
Assessment status: Insufficient evidence. This overview is a framework for research; it does not yet rate governments or claim that a particular policy caused an outcome.
What this page will assess
People and capacity
Examine workforce supply, retention, distribution across regions and communities, and the capacity of hospitals and community services.
Health outcomes and equity
Compare health outcomes and avoidable differences across populations, using appropriate context and community-led evidence where available.
Funding and value
Trace appropriations, real per-person spending where comparable, major initiatives and evaluations. Distinguish planned funding from expenditure and results.
Actions and outcomes to document
For each government period, record the decision, intended reason, implementation status, affected groups and independently observable result.
- System and service changesRecord structural changes, service models and responsibilities alongside the date and official rationale. Test what changed in access, continuity and accountability.
- Workforce and capacity initiativesTrack recruitment, training, retention and infrastructure commitments through to delivery and measurable capacity, not announcement alone.
- Prevention, medicines and community careIdentify funded actions, coverage and outcomes, including whether evaluation accounts for time lags and population need.
- Distribution of impactInclude Māori, Pacific, disabled, rural and lower-income communities' experiences and relevant disaggregated data, with context and care around interpretation.
Evidence to consult
Start with original data, official reporting and independent review. Cite specific reports, publication dates, table identifiers and reporting periods when the assessment is written.
Source links are starting points, not citations for an outcome claim. Add the exact supporting source and method before publishing any score or conclusion.