Sarah Derrett

University of Otago · Department of Preventive & Social Medicine

There is a growing body of literature outlining the influence of interviewers on the success of research studies, yet a paucity of research has focused on understanding the experiences of interviewers themselves. Considering this knowledge gap, this opportunistic qualitative study examined the experiences of interviewers conducting structured telep...

Background Refugee health is an issue of global importance. Refugees have high and complex mental, physical and social needs and poor health outcomes. There is a clear need for more research prioritising refugees’ perspectives of health care in their settlement countries; however, a number of methodological and ethical challenges can make this proc...

Background A substantial proportion of people who experience an injury will experience a subsequent injury event. Intervening to try to prevent subsequent injuries offers an important opportunity to contribute to reducing the overall burden of injury. Objectives This study aims to determine the feasibility of a potential intervention aimed at prev...

Purpose To ensure the recognition and participation of all potential respondents in health research, surveys and care, including LGBTQIA + broadly, and trans people, specifically, the use of inclusive language should be considered. This scoping review aimed to identify and describe strategies considered for gender inclusivity in development and use...

Introduction Little appears to be known regarding the work-related injury (WRI) experiences of migrants (those born in a country other than their identified host country) and specifically, women migrants. Methods As part of a wider PhD project investigating the WRI experiences of New Zealand (NZ) migrants, a review of NZ mainstream media coverage...

Patient and Public Participation (PPP) is key to improving health systems. Yet, studies have shown that PPP implementations across many countries have been largely tokenistic. Particularly, in Ghana, whilst PPP is prioritised in national health policies and legislation, there appears to be little research focused on understanding PPP’s role in heal...

Background In Ghana, the community-based health planning and services (CHPS) policy highlights the significance of both community health management committees (CHMCs) and community health volunteers (CHVs) in the Ghanaian health system. However, research into their specific effects on health system improvement is scarce. Some research has focussed...

Background The ‘Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study–10 years on’ (POIS-10) aims to contribute to improving long-term disability, health and well-being outcomes for injured New Zealanders. This brief report describes recruitment, characteristics and key outcomes to 12 years post-injury. Methods Between 2007 and 2009, the study recruited 2856 peopl...

Purpose Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are useful for trauma registries interested in monitoring patient outcomes and trauma care quality. PROMs had not previously been collected by the New Zealand Trauma Registry (NZTR). More than 2500 New Zealanders are admitted to hospital for major trauma annually. The Trauma Outcomes Project (TOP) c...

Injury is a leading cause of disability. Twenty years ago, we knew financial costs of injury were high but little was known about the short, medium and long-term outcomes after injury. In 2006, a Pilot Study and engagement with Māori across the country was undertaken to discuss the planned main study to understand how best to design a study that wa...

Background Community‐based health interventions have been implemented as a key strategy for achieving improved health outcomes in Ghana. Effectiveness, however, largely depends on the successful implementation of patient–public engagement (PPE). Although several PPE studies have been conducted in Ghana, little research has been done to understand t...

To understand, and identify predictors of, long-term post-injury (i.e. 12 years post-injury) disability outcomes for migrants and non-migrants. This 12-year longitudinal study followed participants with entitlement claim injuries registered with New Zealand’s universal no-fault injury insurer between 2007 and 2009. Information was collected about m...

Aims: To describe patterns of multiple symptom illness (MSI) in New Zealand military veterans, defined as clusters of "medically unexplained" symptoms not fitting within a specific medical diagnosis, and to investigate the relationship with exposure to traumatic events. Methods: We designed an online cross-sectional survey. The participants of i...

Aim: This study aims to examine opportunities for subsequent injury prevention from the perspectives of people who have recently experienced subsequent injury events. Methods: This qualitative study involved individual semi-structured interviews with people who had >2 injury events in the previous 12 months. Interviews were audio-recorded, trans...

Purpose Studies have found that many people who sustain an injury can experience adverse outcomes for a considerable time thereafter. Māori, the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu (New Zealand; NZ), are no exception. The Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS) found that almost three-quarters of Māori participants were experiencing...

Objective: To identify and describe (1) which health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures have been used with Indigenous children/youth (aged 8-17 years) within the Pacific Rim; and (2) studies that refer to Indigenous health concepts in the use of child/youth HRQoL measures. Design: A scoping review. Data sources: Ovid (Medline), PubMed,...

In New Zealand, people receiving care from specialist mental health and addiction services experience poorer health outcomes compared to the general population. Māori (Indigenous) specialist mental health and addiction service users experience disproportionate inequities. This study aims to: (1) Describe and understand mental health staff perspecti...

Purpose In Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu (New Zealand; NZ) there are considerable inequities in health status and outcomes for Māori, the Indigenous peoples of NZ. It is therefore important that the health status and preferences of Māori are specifically considered in healthcare policy and decision making. This paper describes the health-related qualit...

Introduction: Understanding predictors of hospital readmission following major trauma is important as readmissions are costly and some are potentially avoidable. This study describes the incidence of, and sociodemographic, injury-related and treatment-related factors predictive of, hospital readmission related to: a) all-causes, b) the index traum...

Background Injuries can have detrimental impacts on mental health, even after physical recovery. In our Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS), 25% of participants experienced psychological distress (assessed using the Kessler 6) three months after a sentinel injury event (SIE), declining to 16% at 24 months post-SIE. Internationally, studies...

Background Māori have been found to experience marked health inequities compared to non-Māori, including for injury. Accessing healthcare services post-injury can improve outcomes; however, longer-term experiences of healthcare access for injured Māori are unknown. This paper reports on data from the longitudinal Prospective Outcomes of Injury Stud...

Background: Rates of return-to-work after stroke are low, yet work is known to positively impact people's wellbeing and overall health outcomes. Objective: To understand return-to-work trajectories, barriers encountered, and resources that may be used to better support participants during early recovery and rehabilitation. Participants: The ex...

Purpose To examine the life satisfaction outcomes after spinal cord injury (SCI) and to identify the factors associated with life satisfaction at 18 months and 10 years post-SCI in New Zealand (NZ). Methods Adults (16–64 years) were recruited between 2007 and 2009 from NZ’s two spinal units following first admission for SCI. Interviews at 6 months...

Background Injuries have detrimental impacts on mental health, even after physical recovery. In our Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS), 25% of participants, with a range of injury severities, experienced psychological distress three months post-injury; declining to 16% by 24 months. Internationally, studies of hospitalised patients found d...

Background In 2020, migrants comprised 28.7% of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s (NZ) population. Statistics NZ (2021) reports work-related injury claims are disproportionately high amongst workers reporting ‘Middle Eastern, Latin American, African, & other ethnicities’.Media analyses have highlighted the social construction of occupational injuries in other...

Background In New Zealand, approximately 2000 people are admitted to hospital with major trauma annually. Following discharge, some are readmitted to hospital for a range of causes. Understanding the reasons behind such readmissions is important, particularly to develop/expand interventions to prevent avoidable readmissions. Aims To describe the i...

Background/Aims Studies have found migrants have higher rates of injury incidence and mortality than people born in host countries. In New Zealand (NZ), POIS found migrants had increased risk of disability 3-months post-injury compared to non-migrants (Baker W, 2019). We aim to: describe the longer-term disability outcomes (12-years post-injury) an...

Aims: To examine if differences exist between injured Māori and non-Māori in accessing and receiving support from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) for treatment and rehabilitation of subsequent injuries. Methods: This cohort study utilised participants' self-reported data from the Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study, and ACC claims d...

Background Road traffic injuries (RTIs), primarily musculoskeletal in nature, are the leading cause of unintentional injury worldwide, incurring significant individual and societal burden. Investigation of a large representative cohort is needed to validate early identifiable predictors of long-term work incapacity post-RTI. Therefore, up until two...

Purpose Early intervention vocational rehabilitation (EIVR) can improve return to work (RTW) outcomes for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, mechanisms explaining how and why EIVR works are not well understood. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework describing key mechanisms of EIVR intervention effect following SCI. Methods...

Objective: A prospective cohort study to investigate how injury and early post-injury psychosocial factors influence health outcomes 12 months after road traffic injury. Methods: Residents of New South Wales, Australia, with road traffic injury in the period 2013-16 were recruited. Explanatory factors were evaluated for outcomes over 12 months u...

Purpose Māori, the Indigenous population of New Zealand (NZ), are at higher risk of problems with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) 12 months following injury. This paper examines pre-injury sociodemographic and health characteristics and injury-related factors, including healthcare access, and their association with HRQoL outcomes 12 months a...

BACKGROUND: Early intervention vocational rehabilitation (EIVR) is used to optimize return to work (RTW) outcomes for people following spinal cord injury (SCI). However, theoretical clarity is required about how EIVR works, for whom and under what circumstances. OBJECTIVE: To develop a theoretical understanding of how people respond to EIVR followi...

Aims: This paper aims to: describe steps to establish the Southern Health system's Community Health Council (CHC) and its associated advisors; discuss support for the CHC, advisors and staff; and reflect on engagement activities, what has worked well, and opportunities for development. Method: Prompts for establishing the CHC came from the Healt...

Objectives The EuroQol Group is developing a new EQ-5D-Y-5L version with 5 severity levels for each of the 5 dimensions. The 5 severity levels describe different health severities and there is a potential for severity level inversion. This article aims to report the process of cross-cultural adaptation of the beta EQ-5D-Y-5L into Chichewa (Malawi)...

Objective To identify factors associated with better or poorer self-reported health status in New Zealand military Veterans. Design A cross-sectional survey. Participants The participants of interest were the 3874 currently serving Veterans who had been deployed to a conflict zone, but all Veterans were eligible to participate. Study variables T...

Background Disability is prevalent in individuals with kidney failure and can contribute to significantly reduced quality of life and survival. In older individuals with kidney failure, disability can be caused by a combination of factors, including issues directly related to their kidney disease and/or treatment, including weakness, low energy, an...

Introduction Indigenous populations experience greater injury burdens than non-indigenous groups. This paper investigated, for injured Māori (New Zealand's indigenous population): 1) participation in paid and unpaid work 12 months after injury, 2) whether subsequent injuries are predictive of reduced participation, and 3) if particular characterist...

Introduction: Injury accounts for 10% of the global burden of disease. While the literature is scarce, research investigating injury among Indigenous populations has found incidence and prevalence rates are higher, compared with non-Indigenous populations. New Zealand is no exception; Māori have higher rates of injury and disability compared with...

This study thematically analyses free text responses from telephone interviews with 141 participants from the Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS-10/POIS-10 Māori) to explore their “lived experiences” of the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ). Interviews occurred in March-April 2020, at which time, NZ underwent some...

Background Research examining psychological distress in people who have experienced an injury has focused on those with serious injuries or specific injury types, and has not involved long-term follow up. The aims of this investigation were to describe the prevalence of, and factors contributing to, psychological distress in a cohort of people with...

Purpose Little is currently known about how early intervention vocational rehabilitation (EIVR) works for people with newly acquired neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injury, acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury. This study aims, from a realist framework, to identify relevant literature and develop an initial programme theory...

Objective: Post-traumatic stress disorder following injuries unrelated to mass casualty events has received little research attention in New Zealand. Internationally, most studies investigating predictors of post-injury post-traumatic stress disorder focus on hospitalised patients although most survivors are not hospitalised. We compared the preva...

Introduction: Many individuals who experience an injury go on to have subsequent injuries. This study examined the views of health professionals about potential opportunities to prevent subsequent injuries. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews were held with a range of health professionals involved in treating injuries. Interviews examine...

Introduction Patient-Public Engagement (PPE) is central to most community and public health interventions. There are reports on PPE’s impact on improving health and health systems. Yet, PPE initiatives are infrequent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A key step to enhancing engagement is identifying facilitators and barriers of PPE. Evidence synthesis o...

Background Actively involving patients and communities in health decisions can improve both peoples’ health and the health system. One key strategy is Patient-Public Engagement (PPE). This scoping review aims to identify and describe PPE research in Sub-Saharan Africa; systematically map research to theories of PPE; and identify knowledge gaps to i...

BACKGROUND: Early vocational rehabilitation following spinal cord injury (SCI) improves return to work (RTW) outcomes, but there is limited information about who benefits from such interventions, why and in what contexts. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe demographic and clinical characteristics and RTW outcomes of adults with SCI who received early...

Objective To identify factors associated with better or poorer self-reported health status in New Zealand Military Veterans. Design: An online cross-sectional survey. Participants The total number of eligible Veterans is unknown, but a total of 1,817 Veterans responded, including 1009 serving personnel providing a 26% response rate from that group....

Introduction Measures of health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) are increasingly important for evaluating healthcare interventions and treatments, understanding the burden of disease, identifying health inequities, allocating health resources and for use in epidemiological studies. Although many HRQoL measures developed for use in adult populations...

Background Patient involvement in dialysis decision-making is crucial, yet little is known about patient-reported outcomes over time on dialysis. Objective To examine health-related outcomes over 24 and 36 months in an older cohort of dialysis patients. Design The “Dialysis outcomes in those aged ≥65 years study” is a prospective longitudinal coh...

Objectives To derive New Zealand (NZ) population norms for the EQ-5D-5L and to examine the association between participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and their health-related quality of life. Methods Data from the 2018 NZ EQ-5D-5L valuation study (n = 2468) were used. Each participant’s 5-digit profile was converted to a single utility val...

Injury-related disability burden extends well beyond two years post-injury, especially for Māori (Indigenous) New Zealanders. Māori also experience greater difficulty accessing health services. This prospective cohort study extension uses mixed-methods and aims to understand and identify factors contributing to long-term experiences and outcomes (p...

Injury is a leading cause of disability and is costly. This prospective cohort study extension aims to improve disability, health, and wellbeing outcomes for injured New Zealanders, including for Māori. We will identify predictors and modifiable risk factors of long-term outcomes (positive and negative), and develop an Injury Early Care Tool (INJEC...

Introduction Return to work after spinal cord injury (SCI) is linked to well-being and better physical and mental health outcomes. In New Zealand, work rates after SCI are lower than the general population. Vocational rehabilitation is one method of supporting return to work. Although the best model has not been determined, there is evidence suppor...

Introduction ; This paper identifies predictors of subsequent injury (SI) in a cohort of injured Māori. Interventions to reduce SI among indigenous populations would help overcome the disproportionate burden of subsequent injury experienced, thereby reducing inequities in injury outcomes and the overall burden of injury. Methods ; Interview data f...

Background There is growing evidence that a range of pre-injury, injury related and post-injury factors influence social and health outcomes across the injury severity spectrum. This paper documents health related outcomes for people with mild, moderate and severe injury after motor vehicle crash (MVC) injuries in New South Wales, Australia. Metho...

Introduction: The beta EQ-5D-Y-5L is a new patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) for children aged 8-15 years that is currently under development by the EuroQol Group. The EQ-5D-Y-5L is similar to the EQ-5D-Y but has five levels of severity per dimension rather than three. The increased number of levels increases the granularity of the responses...

Introduction Indigenous people, including Māori in New Zealand, face many inequities in health and the determinants of health. Historically, the analysis and reporting of Indigenous health in the literature has usually taken a western medical view, often with a descriptive and deficit-oriented approach—ignoring the holistic nature of Indigenous hea...

Objective To explore how adults living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in rural New Zealand manage their condition and engage with healthcare providers.Design Qualitative exploratory design with semi-structured interviews analysed thematically.Setting and participants Interviews were conducted with 18 people living with IBD in the Otago regio...

Research has found health system improvement cannot be achieved without continuously engaging patients, their families and all stakeholders in the design, management and delivery of health care services. Following the Alma Ata declaration on Primary Health Care in 1978, the focus of health system improvement has tended to shift from physician or ho...

Objectives People who have experienced a work-related injury can experience further work injuries over time. This study examines predictors of subsequent work-related injuries over 24 months among a cohort of injured workers. Methods Participants were those recruited to the earlier Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS) who had a work-related...

Objective To explore how adults living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in rural New Zealand manage their condition and engage with health care providers. Design Qualitative exploratory design with semi-structured interviews analysed thematically. Setting and participants Interviews were conducted with 18 people living with IBD in the Otago re...

Background: Studies examining the impact of injury on health-related quality of life (HRQL) over time are necessary to understand the short- and long-term consequences of injury for population health. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an evidence update on studies that have measured HRQL over time in general injury populations using...

Integrated care approaches have been recommended to remove barriers to healthcare and improve the physical health outcomes of people living with serious mental illness (SMI) and/or substance use disorders (SUDs). The aim of this systematic scoping review was to describe empirical investigations of interventions designed to integrate physical, menta...

Background Post-traumatic stress (PTS) is prevalent among military personnel. Knowledge of the risk and protective factors associated with PTS in this population may assist with identifying personnel who would benefit from increased or targeted support. Aims To examine factors associated with PTS among New Zealand military personnel. Methods For...

Background: Community/consumer health councils (CHCs) are a relatively new phenomenon in New Zealand. CHCs are usually established within district health boards (DHBs) to help address gaps in community engagement in the health sector. Little is known about the establishment, structure, roles and functioning of these councils. Aim: To undertake a...

Background Patient and public engagement in paediatric health‐care decision making is under‐researched, and there is a lack of systematically reviewed literature in this area. Objective To examine the extent, range and nature of published research investigating the engagement of children/youth, families and the public in paediatric service improve...

Introduction: Interventions to reduce subsequent injuries among already-injured people presenting to healthcare providers may reduce the overall burden of injury. However, in order to develop such interventions it is necessary to understand what predicts subsequent injuries. This knowledge is currently limited for general injury populations. This...

Aims: To investigate the rehabilitation experiences of Māori who were still reporting disability 24 months after an injury resulting in hospitalisation. Methods: Participants had been hospitalised for an Accident Compensation Corporation (New Zealand’s no-fault injury compensation insurer) entitlement claim injury between 2007 and 2009, and were ex...

The EuroQol Group's health descriptive systems, the EQ-5D-3L and its successor introduced in 2009, the EQ-5D-5L, are widely used worldwide for valuing health-related quality of life for cost-utility analysis and patient-reported health outcome measures. A new online tool for creating personal and social EQ-5D-5L value sets was recently developed an...

Introduction People with serious mental illness (SMI) and/or substance use disorders (SUDs) have an elevated risk of premature mortality compared with the general population. This has been attributed to higher rates of chronic illness among these individuals, but also to inequities in healthcare access and treatment. Integrated care has the potenti...

Social audit is a mechanism used to hold frontline health service providers accountable. Using the case of the social audit process in Dang District, Nepal, this study explored the role of social audit in facilitating direct accountability between service providers and community. This relationship was summarised by three elements: information/data...

Introduction: New Zealand’s health system is largely government-funded (80%) and low cost (9%GDP). The population (4.7 million) has services planned, purchased and provided via 20 District Health Boards (DHBs). Hospital services are usually accessed via general practitioner practices. Organisationally, general practices are supported by 33 not-for-...