Findings on Maori suicide surprise for researchers

Health workers are failing to pick up depression among Maori who go on to attempt suicide, University of Auckland research shows.

Research leader Nicole Coupe said the results were surprising, as researchers had expected that Maori who attempted suicide were more likely to be culturally isolated.

"However, what we discovered is that Maori who do attempt suicide are suffering from a poor general health status which is often missed by health professionals."

Secondary factors included marijuana use, sexual, verbal, physical or psychological abuse and cultural alienation.

Ms Coupe, who presented her findings at the Injury Prevention Network's Weaving the Strands 2003 conference in Wellington, said health workers were failing to diagnose depression in Maori because it showed up differently than in non-Maori.

"Patients often present with symptoms such as a weariness and a lack of energy that is often mistaken for a physical ailment rather than a mental health problem."

Although suicide was actually a rare phenomenon among Maori - with about 80 people killing themselves each year - attempted suicide rates were very high, said Ms Coupe.

On average, about 750 Maori aged 15 to 24 attempted suicide each year, compared with 4500 non-Maori.

The solution was to identify those at risk and to ensure that health professionals were trained to detect and manage them, she said.

The survey, by Tomaiora Maori Health Research Unit and the Injury Prevention Research Centre, combined kaupapa Maori methodologies with quantitative research.

Its design has drawn interest from other indigenous injury prevention groups and Ms Coupe has been invited to present her findings overseas.

- NZPA