New NHC dashboard captures data on parent and baby care

“I think data is really key. When people have visibility over their own data they’re able to analyse it and make changes and reccomendations where needed.”

The National Hauora Coalition has launched a dashboard based on data gathered through practitioner tools launched two years ago.

In 2020, NHC launched Best Start Pregnancy and Best Start Pēpi, and the new dashboard aims to enable PHOs and practices to gain insights from the data gathered.

Best Start Pregnancy and Best Start Pēpi are tools for clinicians providing care to expectant parents and babies. They include questions about housing, safety, addictions and social determinants, and the aim is clinicians use the tools for all parents regardless of background and ethnicity.

The tools are now used in 380 practices nationwide.

A media release says the data allows clinicians involved in the programme and PHOs to reflect on their support for parents and babies, particularly pēpi Māori.

NHC implementation lead Kellie Rogers says the dashboard displays user-friendly data in a way that analyses the equity of care, at a practitioner level as well as a practice and PHO level.

“I think data is really key. When people have visibility over their own data they’re able to analyse it and make changes and recommendations where needed.”

READ MORE: Coalition’s innovative Best Start prompt tools aim for equity, one baby at a time

One of the dashboard’s features will allow clinicians to compare their own pregnancy care with the whole country.

“When they get that higher-level view, they’re able to see where the gaps are, and what they’re perhaps not doing so well,” Miss Rogers says.

The dashboard has been approved by the Health Quality and Safety Commission. Clinicians can access their own patients’ details but data outside their practice is anonymised.

In the media release, NHC clinical director Rawiri McKree Jansen says the new dashboard will help providers understand what’s happening with their patients.

“Data, and understanding the data, is critical to giving pēpi Māori [Māori babies] the best
start in life,” he says.

While practitioners have always been able to access their own patients’ data, the new dashboard simplifies the process, Miss Rogers says.

“The thing that makes it really clear is the way it’s laid out. You’re able to break it down by year, by ethnicity, and by indicator.”

For example, you’re able to compare the care provided to Māori versus non-Māori whānau.

“It’s definitely a step towards addressing the social and health inequities. It’s not going to be the solution but a great step towards addressing it.”

Miss Rogers says the dashboard is an important tool to address the social determinants of health: “If they have a cold, leaky home, then we can get them sorted with a healthy homes assessment.”

Miss Rogers, who has a background in midwifery, says all PHOs have access to the dashboard, but she is unsure how many practices are using it.

Providers they have heard from are “really happy to be able to see their own network data”, she says.

NHC’s next step to improve the dashboard will be to add referral status, so that practitioners can see where in the process a referral might be.

“At the moment, we can see if referrals have been sent but we can’t see if they have been acted on,” Miss Rogers says.

This dashboard is a key part of the vision behind the Gen2040 project, Dr Jansen says in the media release.

“The Gen2040 project’s vision is that in the year 2040, the bicentennial of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the hallmarks and determinants of inequities will be significantly reduced or eliminated for whānau Māori,” he says.