Building on the gains

The concept of whānau ora has resonated strongly with the health and disability sector. It has resulted in growing support for approaches to health that empower Māori, both as individuals and as collectives. Pae ora – healthy futures – continues to build on these gains.

Māori participation at all levels of the health and disability sector has been a significant area of gain. This participation includes:

• the continued involvement of Māori in district health board (DHB) decision-making (including Māori partnership boards)
• significant growth in the number of Māori health professionals across a number of disciplines
• development of Māori providers, who continue to refine their cultural and clinical competencies, with an emphasis on innovation.

There have also been gains in the approach to assessing Māori health needs at a local population level (ie, DHB Māori Health Needs Assessments) and the use of DHB accountability mechanisms, such as Māori Health Plans, to address these needs. Better planning is also underpinned by better collection and administration of ethnicity data, high-quality research and the growing body of knowledge that tell us what works to improve health outcomes.

The refresh of He Korowai Oranga and the new aim of pae ora will look to how we can build on the gains we have made in the past decade as a platform for healthy futures.

Building on the gains in practice

Korowai Aroha Health Centre – Health at the heart of the community

‘Since being accredited we’ve had doctors knocking on our doors asking to work here – we haven’t had that before.’

Korowai Aroha, a Māori Health provider in Rotorua, holds one of the highest health standards for a general practice.

In this story, they discuss the benefits of receiving a Cornerstone Accreditation by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. It’s a great example of a health provider continually working to refine their cultural and clinical competencies, with an emphasis on innovation. Read more

More information

Whānau Ora: Report of the Taskforce on Whānau-Centred Initiatives (PDF, 364 KB)
The Whānau Ora Taskforce consulted widely and reviewed the literature to explore ways to develop an integrated approach to whānau wellbeing and encourage collaboration between government agencies working with whānau. This report led to the development of 34 whānau ora collectives.

Whānau Ora: Transforming our futures
This document includes a number of stories of the delivery of services for whānau by collectives.