equity

Equity

Collaborative Aotearoa aims to provide every New Zealander with equitable access to health and wellbeing services across Aotearoa.

We are particularly focused on equitable health and wellbeing outcomes for Māori groups who have previously faced bias when accessing healthcare resources. We are supported by, and continue to embed, Māori input within our practices. It is important to us to strive for health equity to ensure your whānau feel confident and assured when accessing services.

Our commitment in reviewing and enhancing the HCH model of care has been to ensure that it improves patient/whānau care and hauora outcomes. As the model grows and matures, we constantly challenge its contribution to improvement in equity of access and outcomes for those communities in need of additional support, particularly Māori. If the HCH model delivers for Māori, it will deliver for most of our priority communities and ultimately lead to better outcomes for everyone.

We believe all patients should receive excellent health and wellbeing care regardless of their socio-economic, demographic or geographic status.

Whanaungatanga

Whaea Merle talks about the importance of whakawhanangatanga and why it was important to recognise this in the enhanced Model of Care.

Understanding equity

Equity and equality are often misunderstood. There is a difference and it is important to understand this when discussing health and wellbeing outcomes in Aotearoa.

Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognises that each person has different circumstances and allocates resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.

Equality we can see in the top part of the image is where everyone gets the same size bike. But it only fits one person.

Equality ignores the barriers that exist in the world, which include
• Economic barriers
• Gender barriers
• Geographic barriers
• Aging barriers
• Physical barriers
• Bias, racism & discrimination

Equity gives everyone a bike that fits their individual requirements and opens up opportunities for everyone.

Image credit: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

understanding

Titahi Bay Doctors Mens Group

Dr Matthew Shaw identified eleven men who had long term health conditions and who would really benefit from some focused support in relation to changing their lifestyles: the problem was they didn’t come to the practice often enough! He wanted to bring the men together, to see if they would be interested in forming a support group that would promote friendships, facilitate organising activities to benefit their health and engage them with the practice. Six of these men were keen to form a support group, and to engage with their practice around health issues and setting goals – they just needed more encouragement to get going!

Together, they brainstormed ground rules for the group, set up a Facebook group to keep in contact, and agreed to undertake a six-week Stanford Self-Management Course. This would help them develop several self-management skills to support them with managing their chronic conditions. Green prescriptions and Kick Start Pool Programme referrals were organised, to enable subsidised entry to the Porirua pool. The men are currently attending weekly Fruit and Vegetable Co-op cooking sessions in Titahi Bay, Lite Pace exercise sessions at Te Rauparaha Arena, and are organizing weekly evening swimming sessions.

Group members have used their own networks to organize these group activities. The men have made strong friendships. They’ve developed a supportive environment for each other, and are more engaged with their practice – a success all round.

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