Health and productivity opportunities: Assessing the economic value of addressing priority health conditions in Hawke’s Bay working-age Māori

Tīhei Tākitimu Iwi-Māori Partnership Board and Hawke’s Bay Regional Economic Development Agency jointly commissioned NZIER to estimate the value of lost productivity due to priority health conditions in working age Māori in Te Matau a Māui Hawke’s Bay.  

The findings indicate that Hawke’s Bay working age Māori with priority conditions experience significant productivity losses. Service use patterns show low use of preventive care (primary prevention, early detection and effective management of health conditions), high rates of premature mortality in working-age Māori females, and high acute demand for working-age males as they grow older.

Total potential productivity gains of up to $122m per annum (equivalent to an additional 1,800 workers for the region) require different approaches to delivering services for working age Māori in Hawke’s Bay.