Enhancing responsiveness to Māori in a publicly funded bariatric service in Aotearoa New Zealand

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.