Kia ora koutou
We are pleased to bring you the Equally Well end of year wrap-up. This e-news outlines some of the many physical health equity initiatives that have taken place across Aotearoa New Zealand this year, including new resources and a summary of feedback on the lunchtime meet-ups.
Thank you for your part in the collective action to address the unmet physical health needs of people experiencing mental health challenges or addiction issues. We hope you enjoy this wrap-up of the year, and we’re looking forward to catching up with you in the new year – lunchtime meet-up dates for 2026 are up now.
May 2025: Funded flu vaccination for tāngata whai ora | Equally Well posters
Since 2022, the flu vaccination has been funded for tāngata whai ora who receive support from mental health and addiction services. It has also been funded for tāngata whai ora who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder.
Flu season is May to October, and in May we uploaded a new set of SEE US campaign posters outlining the availability of vaccines to tāngata whai ora. The posters were designed to highlight the significance of funded flu vaccines for tāngata whai ora and encourage uptake, and we encouraged healthcare professionals to print and display the posters.
Take a look at the 2025 posters here.
Keep an eye out for the 2026 posters next year too.
June 2025: Diagnostic overshadowing for clinicians – new resource
In June, we published Diagnostic overshadowing for clinicians: Improving primary care for people with mental health or substance use conditions. This resource was co-designed by Te Pou and the Tupuānuku and Te Pu Korokoro researchers at the University of Otago.
With a similar design to the popular diagnostic overshadowing video (a big mihi to Storybox for the design input), the slide deck is designed for primary care clinicians to enhance their understanding of diagnostic overshadowing. The slides highlight strategies and system-level actions for clinicians to recognise overshadowing in practice, and to ensure that everyone receives the physical health care they deserve.
Te Pou is endorsed as an accredited provider of educational resources for the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGPs).
Interacting with the slide deck resource means GPs can gain two continuing medical education (CME) points – read more about CME points.
August 2025: Careerforce launched new micro-credential to strengthen support for physical wellbeing
In August, Careerforce announced a new NZQA-recognised micro-credential: Support Physical Wellbeing (Level 4). The micro-credential is designed for support workers (including peer support workers) to strengthen support for the physical health wellbeing of tāngata whai ora.
Education is a great step towards physical health equity – thank you to all of those who made this happen.
Read more about the micro-credential on the Careerforce website.
February – November 2025: Lunchtime meet-ups – evaluation report
The November meet-up was the last one for 2025. Thank you very much to everyone who interacted with the meet-ups this year – whether you planned to attend, attended, or shared the link with colleagues. As a backbone team we always enjoy the opportunity to connect with you all and to hear what you’ve been working on.
The meet-ups exist for us to stay connected, gain inspiration, and problem-solve together. As a backbone team, we have tried to make this space as accessible as possible.
At the end of 2024 we decided to make the lunchtime meet-ups more frequent (moving from every couple of months to monthly) and focused on your commitment to physical health equity. We ran an anonymous, optional survey at the end of each meet-up to make sure these forums were focused on collective impact. Thank you to those who have provided feedback.
The evaluation of the lunch time meet ups has been completed by Te Pou as part of their Equally Well activities. The survey feedback has informed this evaluation report:
Read the Equally Well lunchtime meet-up 2025: summary of feedback.
Whether you are able to attend the meet-ups or not, we also encourage you to share your Equally Well activities on LinkedIn throughout the year and tag us for reposts and reacts.
2026 Lunchtime meet-ups: save the dates
To keep up the momentum and collective action, we have set the dates for the lunchtime meet-ups for 2026. The meet-ups will continue to be held at 11am to 12pm around the middle of the month.
Please note that the meet-ups do not take place in January and December due to summer holidays, however we would love for you to get in touch with us at info@equallywell.co.nz and we’d be happy to share what you’re working on with the Equally Well network. Alternatively, you’re welcome to tag us on LinkedIn (Equally Well New Zealand) for reposts and reacts.
Sign up for the February meet-up and review the 2026 dates.
International Equally Well collaborative
Equally Well in Aotearoa New Zealand is one of several Equally Well movements, and this year we’ve continued to connect with peers internationally, with several meetings throughout the year. This has included people involved in Equally Well collaboratives from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Equally Well Australia hosted a conference in November, bringing together people with lived experience, health leaders, clinicians, policy officers and advocates. Keep an eye on the Equally Well Australia website for a summary of the conference.
Ngā mihi nui o te wā – Season’s greetings
Thank you for your ongoing engagement in collective action to advance physical wellbeing for all – adopting, adapting, and activating.
We are always keen to hear what you are working on – whether you share it at a lunchtime meet-up or tag us on LinkedIn. You’re also welcome to forward this newsletter on to colleagues, or encourage them to subscribe to this mailing list (scroll to the bottom of the home page).
Wishing you all a safe and happy summer and looking forward to connecting in the new year.
