Unmet need for GP services due to a lack of transport

This section presents statistics on people who had a medical problem but did not visit or talk to a GP due to a lack of transport, over a 12-month period.

Transport is important for connecting people to healthcare services, as well as education, family, community, shops and recreation. Not being able to access healthcare when needed can lead to an unmet need, and a potential worsening of health.

About 110,000 New Zealanders missed out on a GP visit due to having no transport in 2020/21

In 2020/21, an estimated 110,000 New Zealanders (1.0% of children and 2.4% of adults) had experienced an unmet need for GP services in the past 12 months as they were unable to access transport.

People with disabilities are far more likely to be unable to access GP services due to a lack of transport

Lack of transport was a major barrier to accessing GP services for disabled adults, with around one in 13 people (7.6%) affected in 2020/21. Disabled adults were nearly 5 times as likely as non-disabled adults to be unable to access GP services due to a lack of transport.

Women were more likely to have an unmet need for a GP due to lack of transport

In 2020/21, women were more likely than men to experience an unmet need for GP services due to a lack of transport (3.1% of women compared with 1.8% of men). 

Māori and Pacific people have a greater prevalence of unmet GP need due to lack of transport

Lack of transport was also a barrier to Māori and Pacific people of all ages in 2020/21. Amongst adults in these groups, 5.5% of Māori and 4.8% of Pacific peoples had missed a GP visit due to a lack of transport, as had 1.2% of Māori children and 3.2% of Pacific children.

Lack of transport is a significant barrier to healthcare for people living in high deprivation areas

In 2020/21, adults living in the most deprived areas were more than six times more likely to experience an unmet need for GP services due to a lack of transport than people living in the least deprived areas.

Information about the data

Unmet need for GP services due to a lack of transport

Source: New Zealand Health Survey (2011/12–2020/21), Ministry of Health

Definition: Children aged 0–14 years and adults aged 15+ years who had a medical problem but did not visit or talk to a GP due to a lack of transport, in the past 12 months. 

For more information, visit the Ministry of Health's webpage on the New Zealand Health Survey.

Data can be found from the Ministry of Health's webpage on the 2020/21 New Zealand Health Survey. The DHB data is available on the Ministry of Health's Regional Results 2017-20: New Zealand Health Survey webpage.