NHI Ethnicity Guidance What is ethnicity? Ethnicity is a complex concept that reflects a country’s historical, social and political environment. In New Zealand, ethnicity data is based on the concept of self-identification, that is, ethnicity is the group or groups that a person affiliates with. There are a number of related concepts including ancestry, citizenship, and nationality that overlap with ethnicity. However, ethnicity is not the same as nationality or citizenship, nor is it a measure of biology or genes. People may identify with more than one ethnic group and ethnicity may change over time.
Updating ethnicity data in NHI: Referencing the Enrolment Form for Ethnicity: Enrolment form 1 – 3 years old: Copy ethnicity stated in enrolment form into the NHI. Enrolment form 3 – 5 years old: Needs to be confirmed with the patient. Enrolment form over 5 years:
Needs to be collected from the patient.
Collection is to present the standard ethnicity question to a respondent with all ethnicity choices Confirmation is to present the respondent with their previous ethnicity response for confirmation or correction When updating ethnicity data in the NHI the current HISO guide states that you must collect ethnicity every 3 years, but that you can confirm the ethnicity if your data is under 5 years old*.
Please note: The collector must not guess or assume ethnicity or limit the number of ethnicities given. The respondent must identify their own ethnicity regardless of the method collection whether face to face, verbal, written form or electronic.
*Reference: HISO 10001:2017 Ethnicity Data Protocols, September 2017 – Please note the current protocols don’t clearly explain collection time frames which we have highlighted to the Ministry of Health and they are in the process of creating clearer guidelines. Western Bay of Plenty PHO – NHI Ethnicity Guidance. Last Update August 2018