Health-related inquiry, assessment and decision-making
The inquiry cycle
Health inquiry is a structured process: define a focused question; gather relevant information; assess it; analyse findings; make and justify a decision; act; evaluate. A focused question names the group, setting and outcome-e.g., “What factors increase vaping among Year 11 students at our school?” rather than “Is vaping bad?”
Assessing health information
Use criteria: authority (who wrote it, qualifications), accuracy (evidence, references), currency (date), purpose (inform, sell, persuade), bias, and relevance to your context. Reliability is not the same as popularity. Cross-check claims against NZ sources such as the New Zealand Health Survey, Stats NZ Census, Ministry of Health and Health Promotion Agency. Consider cultural safety: does the information respect Māori and Pacific worldviews, and does it avoid stereotyping?
Decision-making
Strong decisions weigh options, short- and long-term consequences, and impacts on hauora and whānau. Use a model such as DECIDE (Define, Explore, Consider, Identify, Do, Evaluate) or SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). Justify with evidence and reflect on outcomes.
Worked example
A student compares two websites about vaping. One is a retailer’s site with glossy testimonials and no references; the other is a Ministry of Health page citing survey data and dated this year. The retailer page fails authority, accuracy and purpose tests. The student uses the Ministry data, considers tinana, hinengaro, whānau and wairua, identifies options, and sets a SMART action: “I will not vape at school; I will track cravings daily for four weeks and talk to the school nurse if they continue.” Evaluation: check whether the goal was met and revise.
Traps that cost marks
- Using the first search result; confusing popularity with reliability.
- Ignoring purpose and bias in a source.
- Quoting overseas data without checking NZ relevance.
- Setting vague goals (“be healthier”) with no measure or review.