Research Defining catchment boundaries and their populations for Aotearoa New Zealand’s rural hospitals Defining catchment boundaries and their populations for Aotearoa New Zealand’s rural hospitals Whitehead J, Blattner K, Crengle S, Miller R, Ram S, Nixon G. Department of General Practice and Rural Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand This research was presented at the National Rural Health Conference on 9 September, 2022 in Christchurch. Summary Our study findings provide, for the first time for Aotearoa New Zealand, a standardised description of each rural hospital’s catchment boundary and the socio-demographic characteristics of the population living within this area. Our results highlight the considerable heterogeneity in the populations served by rural hospitals, both in size and sociodemographic characteristics. Using this platform, further research can now be undertaken to address questions such as: What is the extent to which NZ rural hospitals improve access to healthcare, improve health outcomes and improve health equity for rural communities, particularly for Māori and Pacific peoples? Read the full report here. The final report will also be available in the University of Otago research archives here.
