Aim: Better Maori health

The statistics say it all: shorter life expectancies, higher smoking rates and an almost one in five chance of having diabetes - Maori are at risk.
So what is being done to help Maori and why is this so important?
Health services in the Wairarapa region are representative of those now being provided around the country.
Te Hauora Runanga O Wairarapa provides drug and alcohol services, mental health support and mirimiri - a form of massage - among other things.
Manager Catherine Tawera, said the main reason Maori-specific health services are important, is because anything that contributes to the well-being of a whanau, should be.
She said the main difference between their health service, as opposed to a non-Maori service, is they try to work with the whole whanau, on a tikanga basis.
Tikanga are the customs and traditions which have been handed down through the generations - "some services Maori attend have to be culturally specific".
Services are not exclusive: nearly 30 per cent of people using the services are tauiwi, or non-Maori.
Whaiora Medical Centre, based in Masterton, is also aimed at Maori - as well as Pacific Islanders.
GP Dr David Smith, who started working there in April last year, said they have been providing a well-being service in the Wairarapa for many years.
"I am very excited about the prospect of extending modern general practice in a Maori context for patients - some of whom traditionally have had limited access to health care," he said.
Whaiora is based around tangata-whaiora, which means the individual and/or whanau.
They are also extending their knowledge into Maori Men's health, after attending the Tane Ora Maori Men's Health conference in 2009.
They have already helped patients such as Ken Haeata in his struggle with diabetes. Wairarapa District Health Board has also come up with a way to help improve Maori health - they launched their Maori Health Plan in October, 2010.
Chairman, Bob Francis, said that it provides a pathway for iwi to effect change.
The director of Maori health, Stephanie Turner, commented that it is aimed at helping local Maori and to reduce inequalities.
"The plan recognises that whanau are key to health improvements for Maori," she said.
The board identified where health could be improved through their Health Needs Assessment, 2008 - it is well known Maori have poorer health outcomes compared to non-Maori.
"There is a need to develop health solutions that are whanau-centred if we are to succeed," said Ms Turner.
The framework of the plan is based on three things: pouaro, poutokomanawa and poutuarongo.
These support Maori values and tikanga, and emphasise the need to meet face-to-face to ensure an effective health service for everybody.
"We look forward to meeting targets to improve the health of our Maori and Pacific population," she said.
These include increasing immunisation rates and encouraging Maori to quit smoking.
Tikanga looks to continue in Maori health as well as promoting the message of whanau.