Māori a third more likely to be hospitalised from healthcare complications, research finds

A study, which examined hospitalisation data from the Bay of Plenty and Lakes district health board areas, found Māori were more likely to be hospitalised because of both treatment injuries and complications of care compared to non-Māori.

Dr Joanna Hikaka, a pharmacist and co-author of the report, says the findings point to a system that is not working equally for everyone.

"There's variation between ethnicity and the outcomes from healthcare intervention, and that is an issue," she says. "It's really important that we understand why there's variation and what can be done to improve healthcare."

Dr Hikaka says the reasons behind the disparity are not yet fully understood, but access to timely, appropriate care is likely a factor. She gives the example of a patient on blood pressure medication whose dose may be too high, leading to a fall, a broken bone, and a hospital admission that could have been prevented.

A separate study, led by researchers at the Universities of Otago and Auckland, found Māori were also less likely to take heart failure medications as prescribed. Dr Hikaka describes it as another example of the same underlying problem.

"It's just another exemplar of inequities existing in the healthcare system, and the need to actually respond to these," she says.

She says the findings are part of a wider study being carried out in partnership with Te Arawa Whānau Ora Collective, looking at how older Māori can be better supported to access injury-related care and ACC, and to prevent injuries in older age.

Hariata Vercoe from the Korowai Aroha Health Centre, who also contributed to the research, says communities have long had an understanding of why these disparities exist. What is harder, she says, is driving change.

"It's actually quite complex. There are multiple things involved in why these inequities are happening," she says.

Vercoe points to roles such as whānau ora navigators as one promising solution, helping people work through a system that can be difficult to navigate alone, particularly when cost, time, and trust remain ongoing barriers.

She says solutions will need to go beyond the transactional, and be built on genuine partnership.

"If it's Māori solutions for Māori, then yeah, that's probably it in a nutshell," she says.

Dr Hikaka says health system reforms, including the centralisation of data and greater Māori governance over that data, offer grounds for cautious optimism.

"We need a transparent, accountable system that provides information about these issues, and also a way to then create solutions," she says.

To find out more, listen to Dr Jo Hikaka speak about her findings on bFM.