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This article provides a summary of available data on Māori ocular health, highlighting significant disparities between Māori and non‐Māori populations. Māori are more likely to develop diabetes, sight‐threatening retinopathy and keratoconus, and present for cataract surgery earlier with more advanced disease. Limited data exists for macular degeneration and glaucoma, but there is some suggestion that Māori may have lower prevalence rates. The article emphasises the urgent need for robust national data on Māori ocular health to enable targeted interventions and funding allocation. Achieving equity for Māori in all aspects of health, including ocular health, requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health equity for Indigenous peoples in the context of surgery has recently become topical amongst surgeons in Australasia. Health inequities are amongst the most consistent and compelling disparities between Māori and New Zealand Europeans (NZE) in New Zealand (NZ). We aimed to investigate where ethnic disparities in surgical care may occur and highlight some of the potential contributing factors, over all surgical specialties, between Māori and NZE adults in NZ. Methods: A systematic review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) statement. A series of electronic searches were performed in Medline, Embase, PubMed and CINAHL. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies employed a range of indicators for surgical care including receipt of surgery following diagnosis, delays to treatment and post‐operative morbidity and mortality. Disparities in the receipt of surgical treatment for several cancers were observed for Māori and remained after adjustment for socioeconomic variables and extent of disease. Māori were more likely to experience delays in treatment and referral to other medical specialties involved in their care. Conclusion: Despite the significant variation in the types of diseases, procedures and indicators of surgical care of the included studies, consistent findings are that disparities in different aspects of surgical care exist between Māori and NZE in NZ. This review highlights the need to better quantify the important issue of health equity for Māori in surgery given the lack of studies over the majority of surgical specialties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research surrounding access to surgical care between Maori and non-Maori has grown substantially (Fig. Despite a plethora of resources outlining how to conduct safe and responsive research for Maori, non-Maori researchers with little connection to Maori communities and people continue to lead and control research on or about Maori.1 Maori health clinicians and academics tirelessly challenge these researchers and attempt to protect Maori from research that is racist, exploitative and demeaning. Within these discourses, Maori are often framed within a deficit lens in health research.8 Such deficiencies are framed as either biological or cultural, or both, due to mainstream research methodologies lacking critical reflexivity of Western systems that maintain inequities.9 Furthermore, there is limited research examining the impact of sociocultural systems developed by the dominant group on Maori health. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major risk factor for ischaemic stroke and cardiovascular events. In New Zealand (NZ), Māori (indigenous New Zealanders) and Pacific people experience higher rates of AF compared with non‐Māori/non‐Pacific people. Aim: To describe a primary care population with AF in NZ. Stroke risk and medication adherence according to ethnicity are also detailed. Methods: Electronic medical records for adults (≥20 years, n = 135 840, including 19 918 Māori and 43 634 Pacific people) enrolled at 37 NZ general practices were analysed for AF diagnosis and associated medication prescription information. Results: The overall prevalence of non‐valvular AF (NVAF) in this population was 1.3% (1769), and increased with age (4.4% in people ≥55 years). Māori aged ≥55 years were more likely to be diagnosed with NVAF (7.3%) than Pacific (4.0%) and non‐Māori/non‐Pacific people (4.1%, P < 0.001). Māori and Pacific NVAF patients were diagnosed with AF 10 years earlier than non‐Māori/non‐Pacific patients (median age of diagnosis: Māori = 60 years, Pacific = 61 years, non‐Māori/non‐Pacific = 71 years, P < 0.001). Overall, 67% of NVAF patients were at high risk for stroke (CHA2DS2‐VASc ≥ 2) at the time of AF diagnosis. Almost half (48%) of Māori and Pacific NVAF patients aged <65 years were at high risk for stroke, compared with 22% of non‐Māori/non‐Pacific (P < 0.001). Irrespective of ethnic group, adherence to AF medication was suboptimal in those NVAF patients with a high risk of stroke or with stroke history. Conclusion: AF screening and stroke thromboprophylaxis in Māori and Pacific people could start below the age of 65 years in NZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]