She said there were several reasons that could be contributing to this, such as a lack of accurate information being provided to families, or parents being busy and unable to find the time to get health checks.
The event aims to be a friendly, responsive and culturally appropriate afternoon to share information and provide health services for the community.
“In supporting this, it’s about increasing immunisation with our tamariki, but also for whānau as a whole,” Mareko said.
“We’re encouraging, but we’re not forcing people to do anything.”
For Māori and Pasifika patients, there were often cases of late presentations for cervical cancer or breast cancer that Mareko said would be improved by better engagement with early screening services.
“Whanganui is not the only community that has a low uptake, but it is an identified area,” she said.
Mareko hoped the event would help families in Whanganui to be better aware of the health services available to them.
“This is about knowing what the services are, to get advice and to ask the questions that you probably want to ask as a parent.
“It pays to get checked, and early intervention is best.”
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
