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Designing a contemporary approach to prevalence studies

by Dr Helen Lockett, Te Pou Strategic Lead

We welcome Government’s commitment of $2 million per year for a child and youth mental health and addiction study. We hope we never again are caught in a 20-year data gap. Read here about the Government announcement.

Former Te Pou board member, the late Professor Richie Poulton, ignited our drive for robust data. Richie likened the absence of up-to-date data on the prevalence and impact of mental health and addiction issues, to "going to the South pole with the map that Shackleton used." He also spoke to the need for a contemporary approach – "it’s not a survey it’s a study," with a focus on working collaboratively with stakeholders and being informed by the experiences of people. This imprint continues to guide our design thinking, as we recognise and celebrate the depth of local expertise that can help drive this programme of work.

Following this announcement of Government investment, Te Pou will continue to work collaboratively with government and non-government agencies to support the design and implementation of a series of interconnected epidemiological studies.

Two years ago, while actively calling for up-to-date robust data, we met with a range of stakeholders who shared their knowledge and expertise. With the support of many partners, we brought this information together as a roadmap for future studies, gifting the first version of the Compendium to Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora in early 2024. Read here for an overview of the Compendium of Information (Compendium).

Gifting the Compendium marked a significant shift in the approach from Te Pou and partners. Wanting to see meaningful change for people, our partners committed to advancing technical design. Read here to see the work underway with partners.

Priorities for 2025

As Te Pou continues to support the design work needed for contemporary epidemiological studies, these are three of the technical work areas we currently have underway:

The development and operationalisation of a values-led evaluative framework

Creating and adopting a values-led framework is critical to shaping future design and implementation of studies. By making explicit and upholding values that are important to people, we can build solutions based on what we learn from prevalence and impact studies to generate meaningful change (Lockett et al., 2023).

The values we have outlined through the Whakairo collaborative are to advance hauora Māori, Pasifika, and lived experience priorities alongside those of scientific methods, utility, accessibility, and practical application (Lockett et al., 2023).

We plan to work with partners to develop and operationalise the framework. Frameworks to draw upon include the CONSIDER statement for strengthening health research involving Indigenous peoples (Huria et al., 2019), the kaitiaki principles underpinning the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study (Paine et al 2022), and principles of adolescent involvement in research (Azzopardi et al 2024).

Review of contextual factors

The Te Pou research team are leading a review of contextual factors which influence child and youth mental health and substance use. We anticipate this will be available by mid-2025. Sector experts and researchers have told us that a series of mental health and addiction studies needs to measure both prevalence and wider contextual factors. By measuring drivers this helps shift to a comparable focus on prevention and early intervention. The contextual factor review will build on our earlier review of social determinants: Read here about the social determinants of mental health challenges and problematic substance use: Rapid review (2023).

Progressing technical reviews: The psychosis and schizophrenia scoping review

Working in partnership with the University of Otago, Ōtautahi (Christchurch), and guided by an expert technical rōpū, we look forward to releasing the findings of the psychosis and schizophrenia scoping review by mid-2025. The overall aim is to be able to provide guidance on the measurement of psychosis and schizophrenia within a prevalence study. This measurement was not part of the first mental health survey, Te Rau Hinengaro.

How we do what we do

We see collaboration and partnership building as essential to ensuring any work undertaken will have a positive impact on communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Pou and Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Te Hiringa Mahara co-chair a collaborative group of sector experts, named Whakairo. Members of the collaborative group recently presented to the Cross-Party Mental Health and Addiction Wellbeing Group and, for us, this action shows the value of bringing together a range of voices from across the sector. Read more here about the briefing made to the Cross-Party Mental Health and Addiction Wellbeing Group.

Whakairo is an evolving group and we welcome organisations who are interested in supporting the design of mental health and addiction epidemiological studies to get involved. Please contact Ruth Choudharey, Programme Coordinator at ruth.choudharey@tepou.co.nz.

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