Timeframe
2023–2024
Funding
Health Research Council of New Zealand
COMPASS staff
Natalia Boven
Lisa Underwood
Barry Milne
Collaborators
University of Auckland
Vanessa Selak
Andrew Sporle
Julie Winter-Smith
University of Otago
Anna Ranta
Christchurch Hospital
Deborah Mason
Description
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that causes high levels of disability. Disease-Modifying Treatments (DMTs) are available to reduce disease progression, but prescription rates in Aotearoa New Zealand are comparatively low and we also don’t know if they are being prescribed equitably.
This activation grant examined the feasibility of using administrative data to identify MS cases and to test for ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to DMTs. The project was designed as a test case, using methods that could inform studies to investigate the feasibility of identifying other complex chronic conditions in administrative data.