133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
25 February 2025
Chris Johnston
By email: [FYI request #29126 email]
Ref:
H2024055630
Tēnā koe Chris
Response to your request for official information
Thank you for your requests under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Ministry of
Health – Manatū Hauora (the Ministry) on 9 and 10 November 2024 for information regarding
evidence briefs. Please find a response to each part of your request below:
Please provide the latest Evidence Briefs created by the Ministry’s Evidence, Research
and Innovation Directorate on community water fluoridation and Long COVID-19.
If work on the Evidence Briefs requested in (1) is currently underway and cannot be
released then please provide the correspondence that initiated the work - including the
terms of reference, any instructions on objectives and scope etc, and any resulting
communication (eg clarifying questions, meeting minutes and instructions for delegated
work packages). Please also provide the planned completion date.
The Ministry of Health review of the evidence about the safety and effectiveness of community
water fluoridation was published on 4 December 2024 and is available on the Ministry’s website
at
: www.health.govt.nz/publications/community-water-fluoridation-an-evidence-review
The long COVID evidence brief is available on the Ministry’s website at:
www.health.govt.nz/publications/prolonged-symptoms-attributable-to-infection-with-covid-19
3) Please identify which group within the MoH is "undertaking the Bil of Rights analysis of
the directions to ensure that section 11 of the New Zealand Bil of Rights Act 1990 is
considered". Please provide the correspondence that initiated the work - including the
terms of reference, any instructions on objectives and scope etc, and any resulting
communication (eg clarifying questions, meeting minutes and instructions for delegated
work packages). Please also provide the planned completion date.
The Ministry has identified one document within scope of parts 3 and 4 of your request, titled
‘Memo: Proposed process for assessment of fluoridation directions against the Bil of Rights
Act’. A copy is enclosed and is released to you in full. As detailed in the memo to the Director-
General, the Director-General was directed by a High Court Judge to assess each of the 14
directions to fluoridate under section 11 of the New Zealand Bil of Rights Act 1990. This work
was initiated by the High Court’s ruling. The Public Health Agency worked together with Health
Legal, and the Evidence, Research and Innovation directorate to undertake the New Zealand
Bil of Rights assessment of the directions. The assessment has now been completed and is
available on the Ministry of Health website here:
4) Please provide any evidence that the Evidence Briefs by Ministry’s Evidence, Research
and Innovation Directorate on Community fluoridation and the review regarding the Bil of
Rights are coordinated. This could for example be an email trail confirming that the two
teams are communicating, or possibly a revised Evidence Brief being provided to the Bil
of Rights review. There may be other ways to provide this evidence - eg a project plan
showing that the draft outcomes of both work streams wil be considered together before
either complete.
The review of the evidence about the safety and effectiveness of community water fluoridation
was carried out by the Chief Science Advisor and the Evidence, Research and Innovation
Directorate of the Ministry of Health. The Bil of Rights assessment was prepared by the Public
Health Agency and was informed by the evidence review. The memo being released to you to
fulfil part 3 and this part 4 of your request sets out how the teams prepared these two pieces of
advice. Both workstreams culminated in a package of work that was careful y considered by the
Director-General of Health prior to the directions being re-confirmed.
In OIA H2024053399 it was stated that "The Ministry’s Evidence, Research and
Innovation Directorate was established in July 2022."
Please provide a list of all the Evidence Briefs created, delivered or underway by the
Evidence Research and Innovation Directorate since it was established in July 2022.
Against each Evidence Brief please indicate:
- Status (eg completed, underway)
- Who requested it (eg Minister, GM of another Directorate)
- A short description of the problem or question being addressed by the work (which for
example could be extracted from the intro or executive summary).
The information you have requested is provided in Appendix 1.
I trust this information fulfils your request. If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with
us, including this decision, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team on:
[email address].
Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any
decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Manatū Hauora website at:
www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-
official-information-act-requests.
Nāku noa, nā
Dr Andrew Old
Deputy Director-General
Public Health Agency | Te Pou Hauora Tūmatanui
Page 2 of 7
Appendix 1: List of evidence briefs created by the Evidence, Research, and Innovation
Directorate
Name of Evidence Brief Status
Requested by
Summary
Risk of adverse events
Completed. Office of the Chief This addresses the
following mesh and non-
Clinical Officers in evidence question: what
mesh repairs of groin
late 2023.
does the international
hernias
literature report on the
risks of the use of mesh
vs non-mesh in the
repair of groin hernias.
Medical education for
Completed
Strategy, Policy,
This brief addressed the
societal impact
in February and Legislation in evidence question: what
2024.
January 2024
models of medical
education exist in the
international and New
Zealand literature, and
what are the impacts of
establishing a new
medical school.
Graduate vs
Completed
Strategy, Policy,
This brief addressed the
undergraduate medical
in March
and Legislation in evidence question: what
education
2024
January 2024
does the international
literature report on the
advantages and
disadvantages of
graduate vs
undergraduate medical
education.
Nurse-led primary care
Completed
Di Sarfati,
This addressed the
in October
Director-General evidence question: what
2024
of Health, in
evidence exists on the
October 2024
advantages and
disadvantages of non-
doctor led primary care
clinics.
Underserved and
To be
-
This Evidence Brief (the
underrepresented: Pacific
completed
Brief) provides an
peoples in rural Aotearoa
overview of the health
New Zealand
aspirations and
Commissioned as part of
perspectives of Pacific
the Academic Engagement
peoples residing in rural
Work Programme
and remote areas of
Aotearoa.
Gerontechnology: A
To be
Commissioned as This scoping review
Scoping Review of
completed
part of the
uncovers the potential of
Telehealth and Ageing in
Academic
gerontechnology,
Place Initiatives for
Engagement
telehealth and ageing-in-
Kaumātua with a Focus on
Work Programme place innovations to not
Dementia and Loneliness
only address the
pressing health needs of
Kaumātua but to
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contribute to a dynamic,
sustainable healthcare
system that benefits all
New Zealanders.
Rural health in Aotearoa – To be
Commissioned as The aims of this
from current evidence to
completed
part of the
evidence brief are to
future challenges
Academic
summarise the current
Commissioned as part of
Engagement
evidence base on rural
the Academic Engagement
Work Programme health in Aotearoa New
Work Programme
Zealand and highlight
future challenges and
opportunities in this
space. Broadly, this
evidence brief covers
the following areas:
1. how new tools have
identified rural-urban
disparities.
2. the growing rural
health evidence base,
particularly in relation to
key issues of rural
health equity, service
accessibility, and
workforce.
3. a brief horizon scan of
future challenges and
opportunities for building
an equitable and
resilient rural health
system in Aotearoa.
Health care and rare
Completed. Strategy, Policy,
The aim of the Brief was
disorders, Of ice of the
and Legislation in to provide:
Chief Science Advisor,
February 2023 to • a summary of current
November 2023
support the Rare knowledge and scientific
Disorders
literature on the
Strategy
treatment of, and care
for people who have a
rare disorder
• evidence to inform the
development of a rare
disorder strategy for
Aotearoa New Zealand.
Centres of excellence in
Completed. Strategy, Policy,
A rapid scoping review
health and disability
and Legislation in was undertaken to
service delivery, Office of
February 2024 to gather insights into the
the Chief Science Advisor,
support the Rare effectiveness and impact
December 2023
Disorders
of CoEs as an approach
Strategy
to complex health care.
The review included a
scan of Aotearoa New
Zealand examples of
comparable centres to
Page 4 of 7
provide additional insight
into the relevance for the
local context.
Invasive Group A
Completed. Office of the
1. A review of national
Streptococcus and skin
Director of Public and international
infections, Of ice of the
Health to support research on links
Chief Science Advisor, July
invasive Group A between Group A
2024
Streptococcus
streptococcus (GAS)
becoming a
skin infections/impetigo
notifiable disease and invasive Group A
streptococcal (iGAS)
disease, post-
streptococcal
glomerulonephritis
(PSGN), acute
rheumatic fever (ARF)
and rheumatic heart
disease (RHD).
2. International evidence
on population
interventions to treat
GAS skin infections and
impact (if any) on iGAS
as well as PSGN and
RF/RHD.
3. An investigation into
the potential for a
retrospective (or
prospective) case
review/research of iGAS
and PSGN cases to look
at modifiable risk
factors.
Primary and Community
Strategy, Policy,
1. What decisions about
Healthcare: Operating
and Legislation in primary care should be
Model, Office of the Chief
May 2024 to
made at which levels of
Science Advisor, May 2024
support primary
the system [in support of
care policy
more localised decision
development
making]?
2. How should primary
and community care
system structures be
aligned to the wider
social sector in order to
address the wider
determinants of health?
3. What are the
parameters for setting
the balance between
national consistency and
local flexibility in primary
care [to achieve the
Page 5 of 7
overall outcomes sought
by the system]?
Increasing the duration of a
Director-General This document provides
prescription: implications
of Health to
a brief overview of the
for costs and prescriber
support primary
potential impact of
behaviour, Office of the
care strategy
regulatory changes that
Chief Science Advisor,
increase the duration of
October 2024
prescribing (e.g. from 3
months to 12 months)
on prescribing behaviour
and medication costs.
Evidence Synthesis:
Chief Science
The synthesis draws on
Extreme Weather Events in
Advisor for advice the Ministry of Health
2023 and the health
to Chief Science
commissioned research
system response, Of ice of
Advisor forum
Te Weu me Te Wai |
the Chief Science Advisor,
Research into health
August 2024
and wellbeing impacts of
adverse weather
conditions, and ten of
the other formal reviews
or reports published in
the wake of Cyclone
Gabrielle.
Key findings are
summarised and
relevant
recommendations for
each of these are
provided at the end of
each corresponding
section.
Impact of Puberty Blockers Completed. Chief Medical
The evidence brief is
in Gender-Dysphoric
Officer
limited to:
Adolescents: An evidence
brief, November 2024
1. Clinical and mental
health and wellbeing
outcomes in gender-
dysphoric adolescents
prescribed GnRHa
2. A stocktake of
legislative or
governance
arrangements relating to
the prescription of
GnRHa for gender-
dysphoric adolescents.
Addendum to Impact of
Completed. Chief Medical
The addendum provides
Puberty Blockers in
Officer
an update on Impact of
Gender Dysphoric
Puberty Blockers in
Page 6 of 7
Adolescents: An evidence
Gender-Dysphoric
brief, Office of the Chief
Adolescents: An
Science Advisor,
evidence brief (evidence
November 2024
brief).
Page 7 of 7
