Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley. Photo / File
Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley. Photo / File
Māori health advocates are calling out a "torrent of negative messages from society" and low self-worth as a cause of high injury rates in Māori men in the Bay of Plenty.
Out of the 1559 patients admitted to Tauranga and Whakatāne Hospitals as a result of physical trauma in 2018,nearly a third - 451 patients - identified as Māori, according to new data released by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board and the Midland Trauma System.
Māori men aged between 25 and 34 had the highest incidence of injury among the demographics and were 1.6 times more likely to suffer physical trauma compared with non-Māori males.
The top causes of injury for Māori were assaults, falls and road traffic crashes. For non-Māori, falls, road traffic crashes, and motorcycle injuries were the top injury causes.
Māori youth mentor Rangi Ahipene and Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley both called for a holistic approach that included spiritual, mental and emotional health to address the high rate of injury.
Stanley said low self-worth contributed to the high rate of physical trauma in Māori men because they were more likely to engage in risky behaviour. This poor self-perception was also highlighted in high suicide rates for the demographic.
"They see themselves as having little use to society," Stanley said.
"You're not going to value your health if you don't value yourself or think you have a use-by date."
Ahipene said the high rate of physical trauma was connected to the "historical baggage" of colonisation and institutional racism.
Māori youth mentor Rangi Ahipene. Photo / File
He said Māori men were subjected to a "torrent of negative, both deliberate and subconscious, messages from society". He said it was a societal problem, not just a Māori issue.
"Māori men start at negative 10 while European men start at zero," Ahipene said.
"There is no difference between European and Māori but we get this disparity when we create a societal environment that works for some and works against others."
A WorkSafe spokesperson said the rate of serious injury for Māori workers is among the highest within the total population.
In 2018 the rate of injury for Māori workers was 13.2 per 1000 workers, where the rate of injury for New Zealand European workers was 8.1 per 1000 workers, according to the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said Māori workers made up a significant portion of the workforce in typically higher risk industries, including forestry, construction and agriculture.
Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley. Photo / File
The Bay of Plenty Times requested local data but WorkSafe did not keep data for Tauranga.
Dr Mohi Rua, a senior lecturer in Kaupapa Māori, Indigenous and community psychology at the University of Waikato, said Māori men's health was both a personal and an institutional issue.
He said blame was often placed on the individual while ignoring the wider issues, such as poverty and health inequity, that contributed to the issue.
District Māori responsiveness manager, Inspector Phillip Taikato, said Bay of Plenty police were focused on reducing family harm which was "the main root cause of offending" in the region through improved reporting and prevention.
He said a pilot for a family harm education and awareness programme working with perpetrators had been running for 12 months in the Bay of Plenty and anecdotal results showed results had been positive where participants had been referred to services.
Bay of Plenty DHB trauma medical director Jacques Marnewick said he was not able to provide a full comment before deadline but he said the DHB was doing work in various areas to address the discrepancies between health outcomes for Māori and non-Māori.
The Bay of Plenty Times approached ACC for comment but it could not provide a comment before deadline.
Bay of Plenty - injury breakdown
Māori Fall - 39 per cent Road traffic accident - 17.2 per cent Assault - 22.6 per cent Unintentionally hit or struck - 9.9 per cent Motorcycle crash - 6.3 per cent Machinery - 6.1 per cent
Non-Māori Fall - 60.4 per cent Road traffic accident - 9.1 per cent Motorcycle crash - 8.6 per cent Unintentionally hit or struck - 8.5 per cent Pushbike - 6.8 per cent Machinery - 6.7 per cent
