Lay summary
The nurse practitioner (NP) workforce has the potential to improve access to primary healthcare services in Aotearoa, particularly for Māori, Pacific, rural and other high-priority communities. To date, the implementation of NP positions into these settings (including general practice and Māori and Pacific health providers) has been ad hoc. There is no policy direction and little guidance for the sector as to how to successfully integrate NPs into primary health services.
We intend to gather knowledge and information from Aotearoa and overseas on how NP roles are integrated into primary healthcare to improve access to health services and promote equity. With key informants from the community, providers, and professionals, we will develop a framework to guide the successful establishment of NP services. A research proposal for further funding will be co-designed to evaluate the use of the framework(s) across a variety of primary healthcare contexts.