January 11, 2022
Māori health providers needed to provide equitable care for Māori Stroke Sufferers
A Māori doctor working in South Auckland sees the newly established Māori Health Authority as well as Māori health providers as the key to addressing disparities for Maori stroke sufferers.
Dr Matire Harwood (Ngāpuhi) who is an associate professor at Auckland University says it is disappointing that Māori stroke patients are seen to receive poorer health care and are more likely to die from a stroke than others in a major nationwide study out this week.
Otago University researchers undertook the research across 28 hospitals around the country in 2018.
Dr Harwood sees the Māori Health Authority as an avenue to rectify the sub-standard treatment of Māori.
The authority will have a critical role to play in funding Māori health providers so they can step up with programmes so people who are leaving the hospital with a stroke, deteriorating and passing away, and not getting the medication that they should be on to prevent another stroke, are properly cared for.
Dr Harwoord says the Māori Health Authority will monitor the programmes making sure that they’re working and tweaking them to ensure that their quality continues to improve.