Rheumatic Fever: ‘It’s not a Māori or Pacific problem, it’s a system problem’, study shows
New research suggests that high rates of rheumatic fever among Māori and Pacific populations in New Zealand are a result of systemic health failures rather than demographic issues. The study highlights how patient-centered care models, such as school-based injections, are more effective than expecting patients to navigate rigid systems.
Why it matters
It challenges existing healthcare delivery models and advocates for structural changes to address health inequities in indigenous populations.
PMN Play News Radio Podcasts Menu LIVE NOW PMN Cook Islands 531 PI Niu FM Latest bulletin PMN News Awen and Dain Guttenbeil, at Grandma’s house in Portland, Whangārei. Photo/Supplied
With 96 per cent of people receiving rheumatic fever preventive treatment being Māori or Pacific, new research is challenging a health system that expects patients to fit around care.
It was the morning of school athletics day in Whangārei, and nine-year-old Awen Guttenbeil woke up feeling sick.
The boy, who has family links to Vava’u (Tonga) and Ngāpuhi (New Zealand), should have been getting ready to compete.
Instead, he could barely make his way to the kitchen.
“I remember having no energy, dragging myself along the hallway at home,” he says.
“They rushed me into hospital and it took about a week to find out what was wrong … they eventually found that it was rheumatic fever.”
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