Kiritapu Allan / Kiri Allan, Labour MP for East Coast in Wellington Hospital Women's Clinic April 2021 with her daughter Hiwaiterangi after receiving the diagnosis that she has stage 3 cervical cancer
Kiritapu Allan / Kiri Allan, Labour MP for East Coast in Wellington Hospital Women's Clinic April 2021 with her daughter Hiwaiterangi after receiving the diagnosis that she has stage 3 cervical cancer
A "by Māori for Māori" health service is long overdue and will help to reduce the disparity between indigenous and Pākehā health outcomes, a health board member says.
Disparities in health outcomes were highlighted last week by Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan, who is battling cervical cancer. She said as awāhine Māori she has about a 13 per cent chance of surviving cervical cancer whereas Pākehā have a 40 per cent survival rate.
Lakes District Health Board (LDHB) member Merepeka Raukawa-Tait believed inequalities remained because Māori historically did not trust the health system. Establishing a Māori health authority was a significant step forward because trusted Māori health providers, who worked closely with Māori communities, were needed to overcome this.
"A Māori health authority will start to prioritise Māori health and ensure the funding is channelled where it's needed. [Māori] rarely saw themselves reflected at any levels within the system and knew their own cultural values were never considered."
But when it comes to getting tested, she believed Māori must accept responsibility too.
"If you feel something is wrong then don't second guess, get onto it," she said.
Southern Cross Hospital Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner
An LDHB spokeswoman said lower screening rates in Māori paired with a lower uptake of the HPV vaccination were contributing factors to the current disparity.
Statistics from the national cervical screening programme for the Lakes District Health Board showed the screening rates for the past three years were 61.5 per cent for Māori and 76.6 per cent for non-Māori.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board (BOPDHB) reported delayed cervical smear tests were more common for Māori wāhine than Pākehā.
Portfolio manager of population and women's health at BOPDHB, Sarah Stevenson, said this meant the cancer was more advanced when it was detected, and therefore impacted treatment options and survival rates.
To address this disparity, Stevenson said BOPDHB funded initiatives at a local and regional level.
"The district health board has provided financial support for local initiatives, such as the Murupara rohe Women's Health Wananga which has successfully screened over 120 wāhine Māori at the last three events," she said.
The Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation, which provided a "support to screening service" for the Bay of Plenty region, was also funded by BOPDHB.
Professor Diana Sarfati, chief executive of Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency, said prevention and screening were the most effective ways of beating cervical cancer.
More than 90 per cent of cervical cancer was caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) which could be prevented through vaccination, she said. HPV immunisation was free for everyone aged 9 to 26. Cervical screening tests were offered every three years to eligible women aged 25 to 69.
Sarfati said the recent announcement the Government would be funding a new HPV test to replace the current smear test from July 2023 was a fantastic step towards lowering cervical cancer rates.
"The new test is a simple and quick swab that women can choose to do themselves. This will hopefully help to reduce the barriers faced by some to get screened."
However, she said that critical work needed to be done across the health system to address institutional racism, making equity one of the key focuses of the agency.
"Our entire work programme is focused on highlighting where Māori are not being served well by the health system and helping to make change to address these shortfalls," she said.
"To create change, a health system-wide commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is required."
This meant ensuring there was a culturally safe and responsive workforce that reflected the demographics of the New Zealand population.
Te Aho o Te Kahu was delighted a Māori Health Authority would be formed and were looking forward to working with the authority in the future to help create positive change within the health system.
Kiri Allan shared on her Facebook page on Thursday night that she was going into the first of four procedures of brachytherapy (internal radiation) on Friday.
This was a radiation treatment that would be delivered directly into the tumour, or as close as possible to it. Allan posted pictures of what the procedure involved and reminded people to get tested if they were due for a smear.
