The study of indigenous health is an emerging specialty and differs from other health disciplines in that the traditions and beliefs of indigenous people must be considered in developing health policy. New Zealand Maori and Australian Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders face similar health issues but have followed a different historical path. New Zealand was settled by the Maori from Easte...

This paper will focus on a project known as Best Outcomes For Māori: Te Hoe Nuku Roa Maori Profiles, a longitudinal Maori household project with a focus on Maori development in cultural, social and economic terms. This project is based on a cultural framework that has been formulated from ‘traditional’ principles. It provides a model for the interaction between Maori knowledge and mainstream so...

It is widely assumed that Maori and non-Maori have disparate views of mental health. Using the mental health literacy framework, a survey questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 500 people selected from both the General and Maori electoral rolls. A total of 205 completed questionnaires were received which included 115 from non-Maori and 90 from Maori. Participants were required to respon...

We have acoustically analysed the English of four groups of Maori males, representing the English spoken by Maori over a 100 year time span. Three of these four groups had English as a second language and Maori as their first language; for the forth group the situation was reversed. We have shown that the English pronunciation of the groups for whom English is a second language, is affected by ...

We examine how accurately the belief system or cultural concepts of Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, is reconstructed in the virtual world of the Internet. Nine Maori web sites were searched using a list of 44 key concepts in Maori culture. We registered how many pages within a particular web site contain each of the key concepts. These numbers were set up in a data matrix for furth...

AIM To assess a nutrition risk screening tool amongst Maori and non-Maori of advanced age. METHOD A cross sectional feasibility study was conducted in three North Island locations. One hundred and eight community-living residents aged 75- 85 years were assessed for nutrition risk using 'the validated questionnaire 'Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition', Version I...

Primary health care the New Zealand way In the Wairarapa region, in the southeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island, health officials have struck upon a novel yet effective way to treat often wary members of the local Maori population. Holly Else reports. Many Maori perceive hospitals and general-practice surgeries as unfriendly environments and can be reluctant to seek health care at the...

AIM This paper describes an emergency meningococcal C vaccination programme implemented in Northland, New Zealand in 2011. The programme aimed to reduce the impact of a meningococcal group C outbreak on the Northland population, through vaccination of 85% of children and youth 12 months to <20 years with a meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine. METHOD The emergency vaccination programme...

AIM To update and improve estimates of morbidity and mortality due to alcohol consumption in New Zealand. METHOD We applied the comparative risk assessment methods of the Global Burden of Disease Study at country level, and separately for Maori and non-Maori where possible. Analysis was restricted to 0-79 year olds. RESULTS We estimated 5.4% of all deaths under 80 years old were attributabl...