Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents in New Zealand and the incidence of the disease continues to rise, both in New Zealand1 and worldwide2. Unfortunately, glycaemic control in New Zealand patients with T1D has generally been poorer than other international cohorts, and there is considerable inequity faced by Māori and the socially deprived3. Optimal management requires multidisciplinary input from many health-care professionals (HCP)4. However, a previous HCP survey of tertiary centres in Australasia demonstrated that the T1D workforce for 2016 was under-resourced and failed to meet the resource allocation proposed5. Five years on, it is important to assess the current paediatric T1D HCP workforce and outcomes in New Zealand.
Aim: To survey the model of care and workforce that manage children with T1D in New Zealand and link to outcomes previously gathered and provide further scope regarding the upcoming reform of district health boards.
Method: A representative for each tertiary diabetes services in New Zealand operating for the 2021 calendar year was asked to participate in an online survey. Respondents were asked the amount of FTE their district health board (DHB) provided for caring for children and adolescents with T1D. Results were compared to previously reported data on regional glycaemic outcomes.
Results: Data collection is still ongoing and will be complete by the November scientific meeting.
Conclusions: Tertiary and regional centres in New Zealand have previously been under-resourced. This study will determine whether the resource allocation for the T1D workforce is appropriate and relate these findings to regional glycaemic outcomes.