ProCare, the University of Auckland and the University of Otago are joining forces to undertake a large-scale population health study in the Auckland region to determine the impact of multi-morbidity (having two or more long term conditions) on the risk of hospitalisation or death from heart disease or stroke.

The study’s principal investigator, associate Professor Sue Wells (University of Auckland) says: “One in four New Zealanders have two or more long-term conditions. While this burden increases with older age, it typically occurs 10-15 years earlier for Māori, Pasifika and other high needs populations. These populations are also at greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke, yet our current primary care guidelines do not provide sufficient advice on how to assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and care for people with a combination of health conditions.”

The study will be conducted over three years and is funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand. It is the first of its kind bringing together both primary care and secondary care data on long term conditions and designed to assess the impact of having a number of long-term health conditions or combinations of conditions of CVD, hospitalisation and death rates. The study team hope to identify the true burden of cardiovascular disease and other major health conditions in the community as opposed to just that which is identified via hospitalisation records alone.

Sue Wells says, “We know that with the right treatment at the right time, someone’s risk of CVD hospitalisation or death can be reduced by around 50 per cent. To help improve CVD assessments, this study will investigate possible downsides of too many medications and what point to intervene with treatment for the best health outcomes.”

The study will also look at whether treatment, such as CVD preventive medications are prescribed and what are actually dispensed at a community pharmacy. This has not been looked at before in terms of finding out if someone with multi-morbidity is in fact prescribed treatment, able to get all the medications they are prescribed and whether medicines are both prescribed and dispensed consistently across population groups.

“We believe that the co-payment for medications may be a barrier to patients to be able to get all their prescribed medicines filled and that this may be contributing to poor outcomes for some people,” says ProCare’s Clinical Director Allan Moffitt who is also a co-investigator, “and by the end of 2022 we will be able to report back about this.”

The study commenced in January this year and is being led by associate Professor Sue Wells and a talented team from both Auckland University and Otago University. The study will create a 2014 ProCare Adult Cohort Study of all those over the age of 18 and enrolled in a ProCare practice in Q1 2014. The data set gives researchers the ability to look back an additional 5 to 10 years for history of long-term conditions and enables at least five years’ follow-up of events.

ProCare’s patient data of over 550,000 people will be anonymised and linked with TestSafe (regional blood test results) and national health databases (hospitalisations, deaths, community pharmacy dispensing), giving researchers the ability to anonymously track patients over time and determine the impacts of having two or more long-term conditions on the risk of hospitalisation or death from heart disease or stroke.

ProCare CEO, Bindi Norwell says:“This study has the potential to save lives and reduce hospitalisations, which will reduce the overall burden on our health system. With Māori and Pacific people being disproportionately affected by long-term health conditions, it is hoped the outcomes of this study will also inform public policy changes that can be made to address inequities – a goal for all of us working with high-risk and vulnerable communities. ProCare is proud to be supporting this important work.”

ENDS

For further information:
Angela Bevan
External Communications Advisor
Angela.bevan@procare.co.nz
021 933 914

About ProCare - ProCare is New Zealand’s largest network of family doctors (GPs), nurses and general practice teams providing community-based healthcare to more than 800,000 people across the greater Auckland region. As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation (PHO) we represent 177 practices serving the largest Pacific and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice in New Zealand and the largest Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau. For more information go to www.procare.co.nz