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General practitioners

Table 35: General practitioner (GP) indicators

How to interpret results - tables

Indicator	Māori			non-Māori
	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total
Seen a GP in the last 12 months (self-reported), 15+ years, percent1, 2	74.0 (70.8–77.1)	82.7 (80.6–84.9)	78.7 (76.6–80.7)	78.6 (77.1–80.0)	84.4 (83.2–85.6)	81.6 (80.6–82.6)
Unmet need for GP in last 12 months, for any reason (selfreported), 15+ years, percent1, 2	9.3 (7.2–11.5)	15.3 (13.0–17.6)	12.5 (11.0–14.1)	4.8 (4.1–5.6)	6.3 (5.5–7.1)	5.6 (5.0–6.1)

Source: 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey

Notes:

1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information.

Māori males were slightly less likely to have seen a GP in the last 12 months than non-Māori males (RR 0.94, CI 0.90–0.99). Māori and non-Māori males were significantly less likely to have seen a GP than females of either population group.

Māori females were nearly two-and-a-half times more likely to report an unmet need for a GP in the last 12 months than non-Māori females (RR 2.45, CI 1.96–2.93).¹⁰

Figure 12: Top eight reasons for visiting GP in last 12 months, males, Māori and non-Māori, 15+ years

Source: 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey

Notes:

1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information.

Figure 13: Top eight reasons for visiting GP in last 12 months, females, Māori and non-Māori, 15+ years

Source: 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey

Notes:

1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information.

For both Māori and non-Māori males and females, the most common reasons for visiting a GP were short-term illness, routine check-up and long-term illness (see Figures 12 and 13). However, Māori males and females were less likely to see a GP for a routine check-up than non-Māori males and females.

Māori males were significantly more likely to see a GP for injury or poisoning than non-Māori males (Figure 12). Māori females were more likely to see a GP for short-term illness and contraception, and they were less likely to see a GP for long-term illness than non-Māori females (Figure 13).

Figure 14: Top six reasons for not seeing a GP when needing to, males, Māori and non-Māori, 15+ years

Source: 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey

Notes:

1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information.

Figure 15: Top six reasons for not seeing a GP when needing to, females, Māori and non-Māori, 15+ years

Source: 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey

Notes:

1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information

Cost was the main reason given by Māori males and females for not visiting a GP when they needed to (Figures 14 and 15).

Lack of transport was significantly more likely to be a barrier to accessing GP care for Māori females than for non-Māori females (Figure 15).

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References
10. In the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey, participants were asked if there had been any time in the previous 12 months when
they had needed to see a GP but could not – that is they had an unmet need for a GP (Ministry of Health 2008).

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