Political Challenges to the Maori Health Strategy
The Maori Health Strategy is subject to a range of challenges, resulting primarily from an inefficient DHB system facilitating successful implementation of the strategy. These challenges and the effect they have on Maori health are outlined in the table below.
Political challenges of the Maori Health Strategy and the effect they have.
| Challenge |
Effect |
| Implementation |
- Encourages holistic approach, but Maori Health Strategy and Action Plans do not provide detail for implementation.
- Stakeholder relationships, including roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined.
- Tangible effects of strategy are not identified, making progress hard to measure.
|
| PHO relationships |
- PHOs have great potential to carry out The Maori Health Strategy, however, ability is undermined by competitive nature of PHO and DHB relationships (Howell 2006).
- Primary health is hard to carry out in a population with acute pressing needs which cannot be treated at primary level (Abel et al. 2005).
|
| DHB relationships |
- Assumes DHBs have the capacity to implement strategy.
- Success of Maori Health Strategy is subject to ability of DHBs to establish and utilise collaborative relationships which are not built into system.
- Very little additional funding is provided for DHBs to implement the Maori Health Strategy (Ministry of Health 2006)
|
