Residents of New Zealand’s eight largest cities were asked: ‘Has there been any time in the last
12 months when you or a member of your family wanted to go to a GP but didn’t?’
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Overall, approximately one in five (18%) residents experienced a time when they or their family wanted to visit the doctor but did not go in the preceding 12 months.
This was significantly higher than the non-usage of healthcare amongst residents of Christchurch City (13%), but lower than that evidenced in Manukau City (22%).
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Those aged 65 and over were significantly less likely to have failed to seek medical attention in the previous 12 months than younger residents, particularly the 18-25 year old age group.
Residents of Maori and Pacific Island ethnicity were far more likely to fail to seek medical attention, compared with other ethnic groups.
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Males were somewhat less likely to have failed to seek medical attention in the previous 12 months than females.
Further, higher income households ($70,001 and over) were more likely to seek medical attention when required, compared to other income groups.
Residents who did not seek desired medical attention were asked: ‘For what reasons did you or your family not go to the Doctor when you wanted to?’
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The cost of healthcare was the main reason why residents did not seek medical attention. Residents reporting that they were too busy to go to the doctor followed this.
Interestingly, Asian/Indian residents did not rate cost as the primary reason for not seeking medical attention. They rated the illness getting better on its own or using a home remedy as more important reasons than other residents.
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