To determine whether health promotion activities in March-August 2009 increased sore throat swabbing rates among Flaxmere (Hawke's Bay, New Zealand) children aged 5-14 years, and in particular among Māori and Pacific children.
Monthly totals of Hawke's Bay bacterial throat swabs for the period March-October 2008 and March-October 2009 were obtained. Using Poisson regression, the 2008 and 2009 test rates for Flaxmere children residing in the target area during the intervention were compared with non-Flaxmere children. Flaxmere test rates were determined for Māori or Pacific children and non-Māori non-Pacific children separately.
Flaxmere children had a higher pre-intervention bacterial throat swab rate, compared to non-Flaxmere children (6.0% vs 3.2%; p<0.001). The throat swab rate increased significantly for Flaxmere children during the intervention period, compared to both the previous year (1.6; 1.3-2.0) and compared to the increase observed among non-Flaxmere children (1.4; 1.1-1.8). Subanalysis among Flaxmere children found a significant increase in the throat swab rate of Māori and Pacific children (1.8; 1.4-2.4).
A demonstrable increase in throat swabbing rates among high-risk Flaxmere children was observed following a combination of health promotion interventions. The increase in throat swabbing rates observed among Māori and Pacific children suggest that the intervention was effective for children with the highest risk.