March 26, 2019
Racism undermines rheumatic fever follow up
Rheumatic fever rates among Māori and Pacific children in Aotearoa New Zealand are comparable to some of the highest in the world, despite the disease having all but disappeared from developed countries.
That’s because racism, inflexibility and lack of age appropriate care for rangatahi are undermining the delivery of potentially life-saving treatments to people who have had rheumatic fever, according to a new study.
Dr Anneka Anderson from the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences says 80 Māori and Pacific patients and their whānau were interviewed about the follow-up injections.
Patients described being called ‘coconuts’ or treated with contempt because of their skin colour, feeling dehumanised and receiving rough handling, including quick, painful injections dubbed "jab and go" by one participant.
There was a disregard for cultural safety and inflexibility around when and where the injections were given.
Some services assumed patients had a permanent home address and/or a fixed work place where health professionals could visit, but many patients and their families moved or travelled frequently, and some were homeless.
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