Public submissions are now being called for the Māori Affairs Committee’s inquiry into health inequities for Māori.

The inquiry will focus on cancer care and explore barriers that Māori experience relating to prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, cures, and palliative care. The closing date for submissions is 20 September 2019.

The Māori Affairs Committee opened this inquiry in March 2019. This was after receiving letters from Māori users of the health system expressing concern and identifying shortcomings for Māori seeking cancer care.

The terms of reference for this inquiry will focus on:

• collating existing statistics and evidence regarding Māori cancer health and identifying significant inequalities

• studying the higher incidence rate Māori experience with specific cancers compared to non-Māori

• identifying specific sets of issues experienced by Māori health service users

• investigating and critiquing the lower engagement rate for Māori with prevention, early detection, screening programmes, treatment, and medication

• looking at the role primary and health professionals play in improving cancer survival rates for Māori

• researching how to best design, develop, and roll-out an early detection and/or wellbeing programme

• identifying where whānau ‘touch’ the system to identify ‘moments of impact’ where bias (unconscious or deliberate) consistently occurs

• exploring a conceptual best practice whānau-centric model of cancer care.

Tell the Māori Affairs Committee what you think

Make a submission on the inquiry by midnight on 20 September 2019.

For more details about the bill:

• Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates

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