Racial Inequities in Cardiovascular Disease in New Zealand

Abstract

The literature is replete with studies pertaining to ethnic inequities in healthcare. A thorny subject that has been described for decades and yet has few remedial solutions. The pattern of ethnic inequities in healthcare is a global phenomenon that is not confined to any specific race or culture. Worldwide, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the topmost cause of death and a substantial burden on healthcare resources. In New Zealand CVD is the leading cause of death, accounting for 40% of all deaths annually. Diminished life expectancy is one example of racial inequity in healthcare between Māori and Pākehā (the non-indigenous population). This review attempts to clarify the muddy waters of 175 years of post-colonial healthcare inequity in New Zealand and in particular the causes of inequity in the incidence of CVD and mortality in Māori. Such dialogue will hopefully stimulate discussion among policy makers and clinicians to redress the ethnic inequities in healthcare.

Effect of Cardiac Surgery on Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Aged 75 Years or Older: A Prospective Study

“…However, these proportions reflect the relevant population structures as NZ European/P akeh a made up 88.7% of the national population aged 75 to 85 years in the 2013 census, whereas M aori and Pasifika respectively made 4.7% and 2.1% of that same population. Concerns regarding inequitable surgical access are more likely to be the consequence of factors that lead to early cardiovascular mortality in M aori and Pasifika, which will require upstream redress to improve childhood social deprivation, household incomes, housing, and other consequences of colonisation [26]. Our study is subject to several limitations.…”

Predicting high health-cost users among people with cardiovascular disease using machine learning and nationwide linked social administrative datasets

“…To deal with a potential ethnicity stigma (i.e., negative messages about a particular race [ 47 ]), in a sensitivity analysis, we excluded ethnicity variables from the full set of variables for machine learning models, and the results showed a very minor trade-off between model performance and potential ethnicity stigmatisation. The mean F1 scores and AUC values only slightly changed as a result of excluding the ethnicity variables from the models.…”

Transgender-related stigma and gender minority stress-related health disparities in Aotearoa New Zealand: hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, and general health

“…These health disparities have been found in other research of largely cisgender populations in Aotearoa New Zealand, 30 and they are best understood within a context of continued structural racism and inequity stemming from European colonization in Aotearoa New Zealand, which has resulted in Māori and other non-European ethnic groups facing higher levels of poverty, healthy food access barriers, cultural and linguistic barriers that hinder healthcare access and quality, and other disadvantage. 23 , 31 …”