This report presents the findings from the 2016 Green Prescription (GRx) initiative patient survey, conducted for the Ministry of Health (the Ministry) in April and May 2016.
The GRx patient survey allows the Ministry to monitor the performance of the GRx initiative each year. The ongoing success of the programme is measured against nine key performance indicators (KPIs), developed by the Ministry. This measurement is also used to provide feedback to the 17 contract holders around the country.
Purpose
The main objectives of the Green Prescription monitoring research are to allow the Ministry to:
1. Report against performance targets in respect of the GRx initiative.
2. Monitor the level of satisfaction with the GRx patient support service.
3. Monitor the impact of GRx in relation to any changes in physical activity of GRx patients.
4. Report on changes to patients’ health and dietary habits since their GRx was issued.
5. Provide feedback to DHBs, the GRx contract holders, GPs and nurses who are prescribing GRx.
6. Provide the Ministry with supporting information for liaison with other Government and non-Government agencies.
Methodology
The research was conducted as a hybrid self-completion paper-based, telephone and online survey in March, April and May 2016. The population of interest for this survey is GRx patients who had contact with a contract holder over the six months from July-December 2015.
Each GRx contract holder forwarded its patient list to Research New Zealand, identifying a total population of N=18,849 eligible GRx patients. Sampling for the survey was undertaken in three stages. Initially larger contract holders with greater than 700 patients were separated from smaller contract holders. A sample of n=2,440 Māori and Pacific patients was randomly selected from the combined lists of the larger contract holders, proportional to the total number of Māori and Pacific patients on these lists. All patients with known contact details on the lists of smaller contractor holders (n=4,560) were then selected. The third stage of sampling involved selecting a random sample of n=3,000 non-Māori and Pacific patients from the remaining lists of the larger contract holders, proportional to the total number of non-Māori and Pacific patients put forward on each provider’s list.
On 7 March 2016, each selected patient was sent a letter on Ministry letterhead inviting them to participate, along with a paper copy of the survey (see Appendix A), and a reply-paid envelope. The letter introduced the survey and its purpose, and also gave instructions for completing the surveyon paper or online.
On 30 March 2016, 4,657 patients who had not yet responded were sent a reminder letter and 1,052 were sent a reminder email from Research New Zealand. Commencing 30 April 2015, all Māori and Pacific patients, who had not yet responded, received a reminder call from Research New Zealand. This applied to n=1,973 Māori and Pacific patients and a randomly selected sample of n=960 non- Māori and Pacific patients. Of these, 1,478 were able to be contacted during the reminder call period (each was called a maximum of five times). The main surveying period ended on 15 May 2016.