The recipient of a grant for Māori cancer research says she wants to find out how the shortage of Māori cancer-care nursing specialists affects both the nurses and their Māori patients.
Nurse consultant Stella Williams-Terei, of Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, and Ngāpuhi, is studying for a masters degree at the University of Auckland.
She says the cancer care workforce does not reflect the Māori population or the high burden of cancer for Māori.
She wants to start by identifying other Māori cancer-care nurses in Aotearoa so she can see what they bring to the task.
“We’re really spread out, so I don’t know how we all function within our own space. So that’s what I really want to find out – how we function – and I know that Māori have a really good relationship with their own communities and that’s a real strength for us,” Ms Williams-Terei says.
The grant is a joint award from the Cancer Society and Hei Āhuru Mōwai Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa.
