Comparison of Maori and New Zealand Health Strategies
The Maori Health strategy was developed with one main aim. The aim was to ensure that the families of Maori have the highest attainable level of health and wellbeing. The Maori society values the family in a great way. They treat the family as the foundation of the society (Came, McCreanor and Simpson, 2017). The position held is that if the family is doing well, then the community will be well. Conversely, if the institution of family is shaken by some forces, then the community will also be inevitably affected. It is believed that the family is the principal source of almost all good things (for instance security, support and identity). When the foundation of the society (the family) is healthy/well then both individuals and the society collectively will be doing well. The main aim of the Maori Health Strategy was to ensure that the uniqueness of the Maori people was considered so that the highest form of care and wellbeing can be accorded to them (Hayes, 2016).
The main target group of the Maori Health Strategy is the Maori people. With the strategy, the health and disability sector can now pay more attention to ensuring that more Maori families receive health care. Extensive research shows that the health and well being of the Maori people is significantly lower than that of non-Maori (Reid, Taylor-Moore and Varona, 2014). Indicators such as life expectancy reveal the same (the life expectancy of the Maori people is significantly lower than that of the non-Maori). The Maori health status still remains unequal to that of the non-Maori. This applies across most of the chronic and infectious diseases. It has also been documented that the Maori people receive fewer referrals and fewer treatment plans than do the non-Maori patients (Came, McCreanor, Doole, and Rawson, 2016). It is the recognition of these health disparities that drew the attention of the government and other players. Every individual on earth has right to the highest attainable level of care and wellbeing. It follows that more needs to be done to ensure health and wellbeing of the Maori people. For this reason, the government and other players developed a policy that would see to it that the health and well being of the Maori people improved. It was important to consider the unique needs of the Maori people such as their culture so that all the appropriate factors are observed in ensuring maximum care.
Health Initiative Implemented to Support Achievement of the Maori Health Strategy
The main aim of the New Zealand Health Strategy is to ensure that every New Zealander has access to health care service for optimum health and wellbeing (Morgan, 2015). The Maori Health Strategy has a relatively similar goal. The difference is that the Maori strategy focuses more on the Maori people due to their disadvantaged possession when it comes to access to health care services. The New Zealand strategy focuses on ensuring that there are enough health professionals to serve the New Zealand population (Chalmers, Ashton and Tenbensel, 2017). Although great strides have been made in the past one decade, there is need for more practitioners to adequately serve the New Zealand population. The Maori health strategy on the other hand aims at having more practitioners available to take care of the unique needs of the Maori people (Came, H., Cornes and McCreanor, 2018). The strategy recognises that for health care administration to be effective, practitioners should be more aware of the unique aspects of the Maori people such as their culture, beliefs and way of doing things. This way, it will be possible for the process of offering health care to be more effective. It can be concluded therefore that the Maori strategy aligns to the New Zealand strategy in the sense that it aims to have more people/families have access to health care.
The New Zealand health strategy also aims making sure that more people have access to social and disability services. Since the government is the primary care giver, it aims to make sure that social and disability services are more accessible to the people in need so that the quality of life can be improved. Similarly, the Maori health strategy has a similar goal. The only difference is that the goal is customised to ensuring that the Maori people have increased access to social and disability services. In ensuring this, the Maori strategy contributes to the larger goal of the New Zealand strategy since more Maori (who are New Zealanders) get more access to health care services. The last point of discussion in this section surrounds equitable health care. Studies show that there has been unequitable access to health care in New Zealand. For instance, some people could not access health care services due to such factors as poverty. For this reason, one of the aims of the New Zealand health strategy was to ensure that health care access is made more equitable. Evidently, the Maori health strategy contributes to this goal. As discussed earlier, the Maori people have not had equitable share of health for a long time. The Maori health strategy aimed to bridge these health disparities. The strategy therefore directly contributes to the achievement of the New Zealand’s health strategy of equitable distribution and access to health care (Clifford, McCalman, Bainbridge and Tsey, 2015).
Ways in Which the Initiative Supports Improved Health Outcomes for the Maori People
A strategy can only work if it is put to practice (implementation). This section is going to discuss an initiative that is being implemented to ensure that the Maori health strategy becomes a reality. The initiative revolves around Auckland and Waitemata district health boards. The two are collaborating to ensure that the Maori strategy become a reality. The two have formed a joint healthcare team that is referred to as He Kamaka Waiora. The team put in place what is referred to as Maori for Maori planning where the Maori people are involved in planning for the health and well being of fellow Maori. In addition, the team has spearheaded the establishment of provider arm services lead by the Maori across the two district health boards.
Where possible the two district health boards work together to ensure that Maori health inequities are significantly reduced. They do this through including the health equity objectives in their annual plans. The aim is to facilitate accelerated health gain for the Maori people. This helps in ensuring that the district boards are ensuring the goal of equitable health care for Maori people is being achieved. In addition, other ways of accelerating the achievement of the Maori health strategies are included in the planning of the district health boards. Such measures/ways are aligned to the Northern Regional Health Plan. The guiding policy is the Maori health strategy. The initiative therefore aims at achieving the strategy outlined in the larger Maori health strategy.
There are several ways that the initiative explained above employs in ensuring that the Maori health strategy is achieved and that there are better health outcomes for the Maori people. One of these ways is a dedication to ensuring health equity. The two district boards are collaborating to ensure that there is eradication of unfair and unjust disparities in health that may result from the heath system. There is appreciation that different types and levels of resources may be essential in ensuring this. The two district health boards (DHBs) are ready to ensure that these resources are availed whenever needed. The end result is likely to be a health system that ensures equitable access to health for the Maori people.
The two DHBs have also employed a principle that is termed self-determination. The principle’s key aim is to ensure that the Maori people (both individuals and collectively) are informed and exert control over their health. This is in line with the Maori health strategy as it requires that the Maori be involved fully in making decisions concerning their health (Miles, Latham and Biles, 2016). The principle therefore ensures that autonomy and a reduction in the level of dependence by the Maori people. This contributes to the achievement of the Maori health strategy and leads to better health outcomes.
Conclusion
The Maori health strategy aims at bridging the health gap between the Maori and other people in New Zealand. It was established after it was noted that there were great health inequities especially when it comes to the Maori people. It is almost like the New Zealand health strategy with the difference being that it is specifically tailored to meet the health needs of Maori people. Auckland and Waitemata district boards are good examples of how the strategy is being implemented. They include ways of achieving the strategy in their annual plans.
References
Came, H. A., McCreanor, T., & Simpson, T. (2017). Health activism against barriers to indigenous health in Aotearoa New Zealand. Critical Public Health, 27(4), 515-521.
Came, H., Cornes, R., & McCreanor, T. (2018). Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand public health strategies and plans 2006–2016. The New Zealand medical journal, 131(1469), 32-37.
Came, H., McCreanor, T., Doole, C., & Rawson, E. (2016). The New Zealand Health Strategy 2016: whither health equity? New Zealand Medical Journal, 129(1447), 72-77.
Chalmers, L. M., Ashton, T., & Tenbensel, T. (2017). Measuring and managing health system performance: An update from New Zealand. Health Policy, 121(8), 831-835.
Clifford, A., McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R., & Tsey, K. (2015). Interventions to improve cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA: a systematic review. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 27(2), 89-98.
Hayes, R. (2016). Whanau Ora: A Maori health strategy to support Whanau in Aotearoa. Whitireia Nursing and Health Journal, (23), 25.
Miles, M., Latham, H., & Biles, J. (2016). The Australian and New Zealand health care systems. Chronic Care Nursing: A Framework for Practice, 64.
Morgan, T. W. T. (2015). Advocating for the health of whânau. Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand, 21(11), 39.
Reid, J., Taylor-Moore, K., & Varona, G. (2014). Towards a social-structural model for understanding current disparities in Maori health and well-being. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 19(6), 514-536. Pitama, S., Huria, T., & Lacey, C. (2014). Improving Maori health through clinical assessment: Waikare o te Waka o Meihana. The New Zealand Medical Journal (Online), 127(1393).
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