Tūi Tūi Tuituiā

Ngā kōti rangatahi: a revolution in youth justice

Rangatahi Courts have been established to address discrimination and reduce the disproportionate involvement of young Māori in the youth justice system by linking Māori young offenders with their culture and the local Māori community. The first Rangatahi Court was set up in 2008. Since then nine more have been established, along with two Pasifika Youth Courts.

The Rangatahi Court process focuses on those young people who admit their offending and who have an appropriate family group conference plan in place. It aims to ensure this plan is completed and the young person, their family and community are empowered and supported to fulfil the actions in the plan.

The 2013 report Evaluation of the Early Outcomes of Ngā Kōti Rangatahi¹⁹ endorses the success of Rangatahi Courts in strengthening relationships between youth justice professionals, rangatahi, whānau and marae communities. It also shows an increase in positive attitudes and improved behaviour among Māori youth offenders.

At a national hui on the future of the youth justice system, Judge Andrew Becroft praised Rangatahi Courts describing them as a revolution in youth justice and a step towards developing a more culturally appropriate response for dealing with Māori offenders.²⁰ Around 300 people attended the hui at Ōrākei Marae to discuss the outcome of the evaluation of these courts. Those attending the hui said that the report had contributed to a groundswell of enthusiasm for building on the success of Rangatahi Courts.

Māori and Pacific education strategies renewed

Inequalities in educational achievement continue to be highest for Māori and Pacific students and students from the lowest socio-economic groups. However, concerted efforts to reduce these gaps have seen the achievement of Māori and Pacific secondary students increase across some areas over the last year. Also, the number of Pacific and Māori children participating in early childhood education has risen significantly since 2000 (by 12.8 and 9.2 per cent respectively).²¹

Two major Ministry of Education strategies to improve educational opportunities for Māori and Pacific learners were reinvigorated. Ka Hikitia, the Māori Education strategy was reviewed for 2013–2017, with revised goals to realise the potential of every Māori student. The Pasifika Education Plan 2013–2017 set out new goals for raising Pacific learners’ participation and achievement from early learning through to tertiary education. Both strategies set out objectives for schools to: promote Māori and Pacific achievement; work with families to identify ways of bringing students’ identity, language, and culture into school life; and to track how well Māori and Pacific students are doing towards achieving National Standards.

Other attempts by schools to boost educational success for disadvantaged students included programmes to give healthy and nutritious food to hungry students; providing health and welfare services in schools; and efforts to increase the number of high quality teachers in low-decile schools.

Crowded houses lead to hospital admissions

Good health relies on having a safe, comfortable place to live, eating nutritious food and being able to access health care services. Unequal access to these basics can take years off your life.

The extent of the inequalities on the population’s health was identified in a significant new study by Otago University which looked at the impact of crowded households on people’s health.²² The study revealed that one in 10 admissions to hospital for infectious diseases were a direct result of household overcrowding. For Māori and Pacific peoples, the figure jumped to one in five hospital admissions. About 45 per cent of Pacific children and 28 per cent of Māori children live in crowded houses.

Research showed that over the last two decades, an increasingly severe shortage of affordable housing has led to a dramatic increase in hospital admissions for infectious diseases such as pneumonia, meningococcal disease and tuberculosis.

Access to habitable and affordable housing and culturally relevant health care services is essential to improving the health of vulnerable populations.

Study reveals hearing problems for Pacific children

Up to a third of Pacific children could be struggling to cope with hearing problems according to new research led by Professor Janis Paterson from AUT University and Professor Suzanne Purdy from the University of Auckland.²³ The research, part of the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) longitudinal study at AUT University, focused on a group of Pacific 11-year-olds in South Auckland. It found that more than 25 per cent of the children failed a hearing test in one or both of their ears, due to inner ear hearing loss or middle ear problems such as glue ear. About a third of the children tested also met the criteria for auditory processing disorder (APD), a condition affecting a child’s ability to listen and process information at school. Pacific and Māori children are significantly more likely to have permanent hearing problems compared with other children. If these problems are not properly addressed they can affect a child’s wellbeing and educational achievement.

Improving health care for culturally and linguistically diverse populations

With the growing diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population, health practitioners are experiencing more cross-cultural interactions with patients. Culturally and linguistically diverse groups (CALD) often face disparities in health status compared to other groups. They also tend to underutilise health services.

Improving the health of these groups means providing health care which takes account of the language and religion of patients, as well as ensuring services are accessible, culturally appropriate, effective and safe.

A new resource published by Waitematā District Health Board contains best practice principles when working with CALD service users, including migrant and refugee populations from Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African backgrounds. The resource, Best Practice Principles: CALD Cultural Competency Standards and Framework (June 2013) was developed by Sue Lim and Dr Annette Mortensen.²⁴ It includes information about CALD populations and why it is important for health care managers and staff to promote diversity and demonstrate cultural competence. The best practice principles are the latest in a series of CALD health initiatives which include training courses, an online forum and website.

Other District Health Boards are taking similar steps, and this year the Canterbury District Health Board published a report paving the way for improved delivery of health programmes to CALD populations in Canterbury. ²⁵

During 2013, a team from the Department of Primary Healthcare and General Practice at the Otago University Wellington School of Medicine²⁶ has been conducting research into the use of interpreters in health consultations. They have produced a toolkit on interpreter use for doctors and are conducting research into real-life interpreter use during GP visits.