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deal with the sheer numbers of children requiring assessment and treatment with these
disorders. The rates of most respiratory conditions are higher than comparable westernized
countries and the severity of these conditions more significant. Much of this is preventable. In
1999, 'The Top Ten Report' (Graham, lrversha et al. 2001) detailed the top ten issues
affecting the health and well-being of children and young people in Auckland and Waikato,
including a review of the top ten causes of potentially avoidable hospital admissions in New
Zealanders agedO-24 years (see Figure Ll).
Figure 1.1: Top 10 causes of avoidabre admissions, 0-24 years, 1g9g
Urlnary Infecilon
Convulsions
ENT Infections
Gastroenteritis
bronchlolltls
Pneumonla
]ake1 from the.'T-rying to catch our Breath monograph (Anonymous 2006) but adapted from ,The
Igp_f"! Report' (Graham, Leversha et at. 2001).
ENT = Ear, nose and throat
over half of these potentially avoidable admissions were respiratory or ear, nose and throat
conditions' Disease is exacerbated by the proportion of children living in poverty (which is
defined as living in a household with an income below 6ovo ofthe median family income net
of housing costs). This has increased from l6vo in r987/r98g to 2gEo in 20ffi12001 (Ministry
of Social Development2N2).Indeed New Zealand has one of the worst rates of child poverty
in rich countries (UNICEF 2005). The burden of disease particularly impacts on certain ethnic
groups within New Zealand. Maori children currently make up 25vo of all children living in
New Zealand and, as a collective group, Pacific peoples make up 6.5vo of the New Zealand
population' However both of these groups have significantly higher proportions of children
aged less than fourteen yeius of age - 35vo of Maori children (Te puni Kokiri 2oo2) and 3gvo
of Pacific children (Statistics New Zealand 2002) compared to 20vo of total New Zealanders.