Inequities in primary care respiratory illness presentations in Aotearoa (New Zealand) before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study using automated health record analysis

25 Jun 20265 min read0 viewsJournal Feed

GIST (Key Takeaways)

Background Ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in respiratory illness outcomes are well established. Monitoring primary care presentation rates is important for assessing health system equitable responsiveness, particularly during health crises.
Aim To examine changes in primary care respiratory illness presentation rates in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) by ethnicity and socioeconomic status before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Design and setting Retrospective cohort study using natural language processing (NLP) of electronic health records from 37 general practices across eight districts in NZ.
Method Clinical interactions from 2018 to 2023 (n=10 421 399; 4 66 349 patients) were classified into respiratory categories using a validated NLP algorithm. Age-adjusted monthly presentation rates were analysed by ethnicity and deprivation across pre-pandemic, pandemic and post-pandemic periods.
Results Overall, 15.1% (1 573 631/10 421 399) of interactions were respiratory-related, increasing from 13.7% to 14.2% in 2018 - 2019 to a peak of 25.2% in 2022, before declining to 15.3% in 2023.

Clinical Editorial

Summary

BMJ Open published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 25 Jun 2026.

The item focuses on Inequities in primary care respiratory illness presentations in Aotearoa (New Zealand) before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study using automated health record analysis.

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