February 26, 2024
Better primary care could extend Māori life expectancy
The chief medical officer for Te Aka Whai Ora says the first ever health status report for Māori shows the importance of delivering services that meet the needs of Māori.
Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen says there were positives like the sharp decline in Māori smoking rates, especially among the very few young.
The Māori population is also growing, and 30 percent of births are likely to be Māori by the end of the decade.
That means it’s critical to address some long standing problems, such as dangerously low childhood immunisation rates.
“Our life expectancy gap which is still six and a half, seven years between Māori and non-Māori – the contributions include lung cancer, long term conditions like diabetes so we’ve got some work to do making sure we are really focused on meeting the needs of Māori, and primary and community care is one,” Dr Jansen says.
Māori are far more likely not to make an appointment or pick up a script because of cost, and Te Aka Whai Ora has been working on Māori-led community solutions.