Most medical treatments are designed with the average patient in mind. This approach works for some people, but not all, because we each have a unique set of characteristics. Where we live, our genetic makeup, our family medical history and our lifestyle choices all contribute to our health and well-being.

Precision health is a rapidly developing field that uses emerging technology and all the available information about a person (for example their genome, environment, lifestyle and biophysical measures) to predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat disease more precisely. For example, screening at birth to identify genetic variants that indicate diseases you are at higher risk of developing later in life, or wastewater surveillance to identify disease outbreaks like COVID-19. This makes precision health beneficial at both an individual level, and a population health level.

Manatū Hauora (Ministry of Health) is exploring the potential of precision health as part of its long-term insights briefing (LTIB). The LTIB is a statutory requirement under the Public Service Act. At a national level, precision health offers significant opportunities to focus and prioritise limited health resources to those most in need and those likely to benefit. As such it will be a critical tool in addressing health inequities across Aotearoa

As the Crown Research Institute focused on the health and wellbeing of communities, ESR is well placed to contribute to precision health. We are currently identifying the state of precision health activities within ESR, and developing a programme plan to best support a precision health approach in Aotearoa.