Primary care improvement case study: The Fono ‘Happy Skin’ project: Skin and soft tissue infections in the Tuvaluan...

The population of Pacific peoples in New Zealand has a much higher rate of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) than the rest of the New Zealand population. Among Pacific peoples, the Tuvaluan community has the highest rate of SSTI, indicating a large equity gap that needs to be addressed. The Fono initiated a quality improvement project that used a community-based public health approach with the aim of reducing the rate of SSTI by 25 percent by November 2018 in the West Auckland Tuvaluan community. Here’s what they did.