Reports & Research.
Advancing the Smart and Efficient Use of New Zealand’s Māori Community Health Workforce
The purpose of this solutions paper is to inform and generate sector discussion about the urgent need to advance the smart and efficient use of the Māori Community Health Workforce[1]. Hauora.com[2] suggests that at present, this unique Workforce is not universally recognised and therefore its potential is underutilized. We also posit that the future of the Māori Community Health Workforce is unclear due to the lack of a cohesive and resourced approach for development and advancement.
This situation needs to change in order to effectively mobilise what is effectively New Zealand’s largest Māori health workforce. The opportunity to effect change is now because emphasis is being placed on new sector configuration and funding opportunities linked to “transformational” change, for example, Minister Turia’s Whānau Ora Strategy (Durie et al, 2010), Minister Ryall’s Better Sooner More Convenient Policy (Ryall, 2009) and Minister Bennett’s Community Response Forums (MSD, 2010)..
Accordingly, this paper outlines the context and rationale for change by analyzing the role of a Community Health Worker, and in particular, a Māori Community Health Worker; why it is important to recognize the value and impact of this workforce; the current state of this workforce and ; the potential of transformational sector opportunities and Māori CHWs. We then summarise the five key barriers, that in our opinion, currently impede Māori CHW development and we present five POU or Solutions to mitigate these barriers.
[1] Although this paper focuses on the Māori Community Health Worker advancement it builds upon generic Community Health Worker (CHW) issues and as such, solutions in this paper may also be applicable or adapted to suit non-Māori CHWs.
[2] Hauora.com is a Māori Workforce Development Agency, see: www.hauora.com.
The non regulated Māori health workforce: Perspectives on role, utility, and workforce development in a Whānau Ora environment
Executive Summary
What has emerged from discussion with research participants is that the non regulated workforce plays a critical role in the provision of health care to communities. Within the health sector there is huge potential to provide better, sooner and more convenient services with adequate resourcing, planning and Government support around this development.
The key issues that have emerged from the informants are:
- There is a need to better define the CHW role and all its iterations in a New Zealand context, if it is to be mobilised effectively and provide optimal community health outcomes;
- There are inadequate resources, insufficient funding and low pay rates/salaries which threaten the sustainability and quality assurance of health care services;
- This role is critical in terms of supporting the strategic intention of the MoH health care strategy;
- A framework needs to be developed that provides effective management in terms of recruitment, retention, training/education, career pathways, oversight and feedback mechanisms for organisations and workers;
- There is consensus that research is important for both monitoring and measuring health outcomes;
- All sectors need to collaborate to provide better integration and coordination of services to Māori communities;
- Better systems for data collection and evaluation need to be put in place within health organisations;
- Te Whiringa Trust needs to be resourced appropriately to manage this development since they have been established for this purpose.