1 research outputs found
How efficient are New Zealand's District Health Boards at producing life expectancy gains for Māori and Europeans?
As an open access journal, all articles in ANZJPH will be freely available to read, download and share immediately on publication[EN] Objective: Use data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of New Zealand’s
District Health Boards (DHBs) at achieving gains in Māori and European life expectancy (LE).
Methods: Using life tables for 2006 and 2013, a two-output DEA model established the
production possibility frontier for Māori and European LE gain. Confidence limits were
generated from a 10,000 replicate Monte Carlo simulation.
Results: Results support the use of LE change as an indicator of DHB efficiency. DHB mean
income and education were related to initial LE but not to its rate of change. LE gains were
unrelated to either the initial level of life expectancy or to the proportion of Māori in the
population. DHB efficiency ranged from 79% to 100%. Efficiency was significantly correlated
with DHB financial performance.
Conclusion: Changes in LE did not depend on the social characteristics of the DHB. The
statistically significant association between efficiency and financial performance supports its
use as an indicator of managerial effectiveness.
Implications for Public Health: Efficient health systems achieve better population health
outcomes. DEA can be used to measure the relative efficiency of sub-national health
authorities at achieving health gain and equity outcomes.Sandiford, P.; Vivas Consuelo, DJJ.; Rouse, P. (2017). How efficient are New Zealand's District Health Boards at producing life expectancy gains for Māori and Europeans?. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 41(2):125-129. doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12618S12512941