Māori public health workforce development is a priority of Te Uru Kahikatea: The Public Health Workforce Development Plan (PH WDP) (Ministry of Health. 2007). The overarching aim is to improve Māori health and address the health disparities between Māori and non-Māori.
Inequalities in the distribution of and access to material resources - income, education, employment and housing - are the primary cause of health inequalitites. Māori have poorer health status than non-Māori.
To address these health inequalities, the public health wokrforce must be responsive to the needs of Māori in our communities. The Māori public health workforce must be grown and strengthened and the non-Māori workforce must equip themselves to be more responsive to Māori health need.
The former Health Workforce Advisory Committee (HWAC) estimated the proportion of Māori health practitioners in the regulated workforce across all health services is around 5%, but noted there was no information available for the non-regulated workforce. (HWAC. 2002. The New Zealand Health Workforce: A Stocktake of Issues and Capacity 2001. Wellington: HWAC).
Similarly, only limited information is available about the Māori public health workforce. A baseline survey of the Māori workforce was undertaken as part of the survey of the general public health workforce (Phoenix Research. 2004). The baseline survey showed that Māori comprise around 30% of the public health provider workforce.
Although this indicates a relatively high proportion of Māori, Māori are unevenly represented across the public health workforce and are concentrated in less senior and less well-paid positions; for example, in the community worker, health promotion and health education fields (the unregulated public health workforce).
To build on the work completed by Phoenix Research in 2004 and to meet the priority objective of developing a national Māori public health workforce development framework, Te Rau Matatini have completed a literature research report (Te Kahu Momo Rangahau), a qualitative analysis of the Māori public health workforce (Ngā Whakaaro Mahi A Rohe), a Māori public health workforce participants' profile (Ngā Whakaaro Mahi A Rohe) and a draft Māori public health workforce development framework and implementation plan. (E Ara Tauwhaiti Whakarae. 2007).
The underlying premise for Te Rau Matatini work is to strengthen the capacity and capability of the whole of the public health workforce to respond more effectively to the health needs of Māori. (PH WDP. 2007)
Key findings from the Te Rau Matatini research indicates the need for:
- dedicated information about the Māori public health workforce
- dedicated Māori public health career pathways
- increased innovative recruitment strategies to attract more Māori to public health as well as recognise existing Māori public health community contributions
- greater access to cultural and technical training
- evidence-based Māori processes and practices (by Māori for Māori approaches to meet the needs of Māori communities in health)
- dedicated leadership development
- increased co-ordination, and
- information access and sharing.
Te Rau Matatini. 2006. E Ara Tauwhaiti Whakarae: National Māori Public Health Workforce Development Implementation Plan (IN DRAFT). Commissioned by the Ministry of Health. Wellington: Te Rau Matatini.