Discussion sheds light on Hauora Māori
9 September 2016
There was standing room only at a panel discussion on Hauora Māori at the University of Waikato’s Kīngitanga Day on 8 September.
Population researcher Associate Professor Tahu Kukutai from the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA) spoke about Māori health from a broad prospective based on her research identifying four key elements of indigenous wellbeing: freedom, balance, distinctive identity, and the capacity to survive and thrive.
She said Māori had survived drastic population decline from the mid-late 1800s, and had gone on to experience very high levels of growth, with New Zealand’s Māori population now at around 710,000 and expected to increase to one million by 2033.
She said Māori had survived disease, poverty, the stealing of their land and assimilation, but there were still many challenges to address in moving from surviving to thriving.
“Māori history is a remarkable story of coming back from the brink,” she says.
“But to get to thriving, a ‘one size fits all approach’ is not going to work. A strong sense of identity is key, along with a celebration of our distinctiveness, connectedness to whānau and community, and control over education and access to health services, whether in strongly Māori areas such as Northland and East Cape, or parts of the South Island where the demographic visibility of Māori is low.”
Professor of Population Health Ross Lawrenson approached the topic from a Pākehā perspective, talking about his extensive research into Māori health outcomes since his arrival in New Zealand from the UK in 1981.
Professor Lawrenson’s research projects have included looking into undiagnosed diabetes and the prevention of diabetes in rural Māori, which led to developing a diabetes strategy for the Waikato community. He has also been active in researching the palliative care needs of Māori, health literacy, and breast and prostate cancer.
His research shows not only huge disparities in terms of access to health services, screening, testing, diagnosis and treatment between Māori and non-Māori but substantial differences in health outcomes.
“My research showed if Māori men with prostate cancer had an abnormal health test result, they were less likely than Pākehā to be referred to a specialist, and there were also differences in treatment. However for Māori women identified with breast cancer through breast screening, treatment and outcomes were the same as non-Māori.”
He said the key to improving Māori health outcomes, was strong community and whānau involvement to ensure equitable access and treatment for Māori .