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Background: Health equity is a fundamental right afforded to all regardless of ethnicity. However, in New Zealand (NZ), health inequities are most compelling for Indigenous Māori who experience inadequate access to services, poorer quality of care and poor health outcomes as a result. Bariatric surgery is the most effective intervention for weight loss and remission of obesity‐related disease where all other interventions have been exhausted. This Kaupapa Māori qualitative study presents Māori perspectives of bariatric surgery from the largest public bariatric centre in NZ and offers solutions for enhancing bariatric service responsiveness to Māori. Methods: This qualitative study was informed by Kaupapa Māori methodology and involved a general inductive thematic analysis of 31 semi‐structured interviews with Māori patients who had bariatric surgery at Counties Manukau Health in South Auckland, NZ. Results: Four key themes were identified following analysis: (i) Kaupapa Māori standards of health; (ii) bariatric mentors; (iii) bariatric psychologists; and (iv) community‐integrated support. These themes offer four tangible solutions for optimizing bariatric pathways for Māori from the perspectives of Māori bariatric patients. Conclusion: Kaupapa Māori, community‐centred and greater non‐surgeon aspects of bariatric supportive mechanisms comprise key areas of opportunity for public bariatric pathways in NZ. Surgical leadership is required to advance health equity and service responsiveness to Māori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bariatric surgery has become topical in the media worldwide, influencing wider societal attitudes towards obesity and obesity management. This study aims to explore the media portrayal of bariatric surgery in all print news articles published in New Zealand (NZ) over a decade. Methods: An electronic search of two databases (Proquest Australia/NZ Newsstream and Newztext) and two NZ news media websites (Stuff and the NZ Herald) was performed to retrieve print news articles reporting stories, opinion pieces or editorials regarding bariatric surgery published between January 2007 to June 2017. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed on all included articles. Results: From January 2007 to December 2017, 252 articles related to bariatric surgery were published. Seven major themes emerged centred around barriers to accessing bariatric surgery, deficit attitudes towards obesity and social justice. These views were driven by articles that debated the limited number of publicly funded bariatric procedures offered in NZ. In addition, healthcare professionals used the media as a platform to challenge discriminatory attitudes towards obesity and bariatric surgery. Conclusion: The NZ media is a powerful tool that still bolsters binary perspectives of obesity and bariatric surgery which may work against addressing the obesity epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]