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Use Āwhina to stay up to date on the latest information relevant to the health and disability sector and receive notifications when content is added or updated. Āwhina was developed initially to make COVID-19 information easily accessible to health workers; now we are beginning to use Āwhina for other important information.

Āwhina, currently used by more than 16,000 people, lets you access information from the Ministry of Health and other trusted sources on your mobile device. You can save content in the app to give you quick access to it again later.

The Ministry developed the app with feedback from people working in the health sector, and we’ll continue to review and improve its functionality based on feedback. If there is content you’d like to see in Āwhina we’d like to hear from you, please email: Awhina.info@health.govt.nz

Question and answers

Do all health workers need to use the app?

We encourage all health workers to use the app because it will give them quick access to new or updated COVID-19 information.

The emergence of COVID-19 and the response required by people working in the health and disability sector resulted in a huge increase in mobile traffic to the Ministry of Health’s website. The app makes it easier for people to access the information they need and reduces the need for them to go looking for information on the website. 

The information in the app is a single source of information about COVID-19 from the Ministry of Health and other trusted sources, although the information is all available on the Ministry of Health website and other public websites.

Where does the information come from?

The information is official advice and guidance from the Ministry of Health and other trusted sources, such as the World Health Organisation.

What can I do if I am having difficulty installing the app?

If you have searched Google Play or the Apple App Store by the Āwhina name (with or without the macron) or followed the links from our website and have not been able to find the Āwhina app it could be due to the following:

  • your operating system may be too old. The app will run on devices with Apple IOS 9 (2015) and above and Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean 2012) and above.  
  • your user settings may not reflect you are over 18 years old.
  • work-related restrictions – some work environments limit the apps that can be used on a work phone. If you think this is the case contact your ICT department and request the app is added to the ‘allowed’ apps.
  • technical incompatibility on your phone. 

If you are having trouble downloading the app it could be related to connectivity issues or insufficient storage space (Āwhina requires ~20 MB of free space to load).

Do I need to register or create an account? What personal information does the app collect or use?

No, you do not need to register to use Āwhina. The app holds no personal information.

What is the best way to find the information most relevant to me?

You can quickly filter content to can find what is relevant to your area of work. This content will appear in your newsfeed, and you will also receive notifications about new or updated content based on your selections. You can further filter their newsfeed by ‘clinical’ or ‘non clinical’. There is also a search function in the app, and you can save content in the app to get quick access to it again later. 

Can people share the information in the app with others?

The information in the app is all publicly available and can be shared, although there is no functionality at this stage in the app to do this easily.

Does the app contain information about patients?

No. The app contains only information that is publicly available either on the Ministry of Health website or another trusted source. 

What is HealthPathways?

HealthPathways is an online tool that can be accessed through Āwhina. HealthPathways offers clinicians locally agreed information to make the right decisions, together with patients, at the point of care. HealthPathways provides information to consistently assess and manage medical conditions, as well as the criteria for requesting health services within your local area. Written for general practice teams, HealthPathways is also useful to all other health professionals. 

Who can access HealthPathways?

HealthPathways is written for general practice teams but is available for use by all registered health professionals.  It contains complex clinical content and service access information for clinician use only so is not open to the general public.