Members of the Raranga Tangata Oranga Tangata research team, Liz Dewes, Dr Lynne Russell, Dr Amohia Boulton. Absent: Dr Michelle Levy, Nora Parore
Whakauae researcher Dr Amohia Boulton is part of a team who have issued a powerful challenge for revolutionary and radical Kaupapa Māori-led change across the health system.
As part of the Health Research Council-funded Raranga Tāngata, Oranga Tāngata project, the team have produced a policy brief titled ‘Indigenising our future: A call to action', collating the views of 27 Māori health leaders from across Aotearoa. Read the brief here.
The team is led by Senior Research Fellow—Māori Health Dr Lynne Russell (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou) from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, in partnership with Dr Amohia Boulton (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngai te Rangi, Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Mutunga), Research Director from Whakauae Research Services Ltd.
“The purpose of the policy brief was to present our high-level findings from this major study to those who are currently working to improve health equity for Māori, those in the driving seat of reform, who are leading out the transformational change our communities expect” says Dr Boulton. The brief informs not just Te Manatū Hauora, Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora, but all agencies responsible for addressing inequities in health.
The policy brief stresses that as the establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora is revolutionary, the solutions enacted by Te Aka Whai Ora must also aspire to be revolutionary. Health reforms must radically transcend the current approaches meant to address health h inequities for Māori. “A Western paradigm of health cannot be prioritised to address issues it has thus far not only failed to solve, but has made worse,” says Dr Russell.
The call-to-action builds on the recommendations of stage one of the Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry (WAI 2575), focused on primary health, which emphasised the critical importance of transforming an institutionally racist, general practice-centric, business model of primary health care. Dr Boulton observes, “Our research participants provided us with a very clear message and that Indigenous knowledge and solutions are integral to primary health care reform in Aotearoa - investment in communities of disruptive innovators is critical.”
“Kaupapa Māori and Whānau Ora providers are agile and innovative, and have successfully demonstrated, most recently during COVID-19, their expertise and capacity to deliver relational, whānau-centred, Te Ao Māori-driven solutions which benefit all,” states Dr Russell. “Taking our lead from our providers and communities, we need to extend our vision well beyond what the state defines as possible for us. We are advocating for a return to the radically disruptive foundations of Kaupapa Māori, which has as its focus transformative structural change.”
“To truly transform primary health care outcomes for Māori, we urge the Government and its agencies to grasp the opportunities for radical disruption which are being presented by health system reform in Aotearoa right now,” says Dr Russell.
All agencies across the full spectrum of health and wellbeing in Aotearoa have a responsibility to rise to the challenges presented within the policy brief. The research team are currently producing further technical reports and papers based on their discussions with Māori health experts. These will be published in a number of academic journals over the coming months.
