Organisational views on health care access for hauā (disabled) Māori in Murihiku (Southland), Aotearoa New Zealand: A mixed methods approach

Abstract

We report and discuss the findings of a survey of a range of health care providers serving hauā (disabled) Māori in the Murihiku (Southland) region of Aotearoa New Zealand. To explore hauā Māori access to health services, we used a mixed methods approach beginning with a quantitative survey and followed by qualitative interviews. Twenty-nine (58%) completed surveys were returned and we interviewed representatives from 15 organisations. We found all organisations were disability accessible in the physical sense, but were less accessible from a cultural perspective. There appeared a misunderstanding between what could be deemed a non-racial, human rights approach of respect for all people, no matter the ethnicity (“We treat everyone who walks through the door the same”) and the importance of tikaka (customary Māori practice), for services provided for Māori. The most significant proposal resulting from this research was for organisations to have a local, trusted, cultural advisor to regularly discuss and review Māori clients. Individually, health facilities that provide services to Māori should evaluate their cultural awareness, service access and promotion, health information, and service effectiveness. This paper provides insights and suggestions to health organisations, such as physiotherapy services, on how they can improve their service accessibility to hauā Māori.