The Whānau Ora Health Impact Assessment tool was published in April 2007 by the Ministry of Health and builds on the Public Health Advisory Committee’s, ‘A Guide to HIA: A Policy Tool for New Zealand’ (2005).
The Whānau Ora HIA tool follows the same methodology: Screening, Scoping, Appraisal and Reporting and Evaluation. It follows the same methodology: Screening, Scoping, Appraisal and Reporting and Evaluation.
It was developed for use by policy makers as a tool for assessing the positive and negative impact of their policies on Māori and to identify ways in which these could be enhanced or adapted. It complements other resources aimed at promoting Māori health including the Health Equity Audit Tool.
It was produced in response to the fact that the Māori population experiences significantly poorer health outcomes than the rest of New Zealand’s population and as a way to support delivery of the Ministry of Health’s strategic vision to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities for Māori outlined in He Korowai Oranga: Māori Health Strategy 2002.
At the heart of the tool is the concept of ‘Whānau ora’, which means, ‘Māori families being supported to achieve their maximum health and well being’. Its overarching aim is to ensure equity in health for Māori.
When to use Whānau Ora HIA
This tool should be considered when the policy under development will affect Māori.
Whānau Ora HIA Training
During 2008 the Ministry of Health has developed and funded a Whānau Ora training programme across the country. This has consisting of 10 half day advocacy sessions and 5 two day training courses. These have been well attended with 130 people at the advocacy sessions alone.
The focus now is to build on the training to develop more examples of the tool in use, showing its added value to the decision-making process.