Making sure the New Zealand border is not our Achilles heel: repeated cross-sectional COVID-19 surveys in primary care.

Abstract

<h4>Aim</h4>Quick COVID-19 Surveys are an international collaboration designed to rapidly analyse and disseminate a primary care perspective on the pandemic and associated health response. In this paper we present results from surveys relating to opening the New Zealand border.<h4>Method</h4>Three surveys were distributed to primary care practices between May and December 2020. A range of primary care member organisations distributed the survey augmented by snowballing. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data through an inductive process and grouped into themes.<h4>Results</h4>Respondents became increasingly supportive of opening a trans-Tasman border but not internationally. Two broad themes were evident: (1) making sure that the border is not an Achilles heel and (2) effective strategies to reduce local transmission. These themes highlight primary care's concerns around management of the border and the management of local spread respectively.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The results highlight concerns around border control from a primary care perspective. The border control issues raised by primary care have proven to be prophetic at times and reflect the role that primary care has as observers of society. The survey mechanism provides a template for rapidly eliciting a primary care voice for future health issues.