National Travel Assistance Entitlements Are Inaccessible to Whānau Māori

New Zealand's National Travel Assistance scheme is intended to provide financial support for people who need to either travel frequently or over long distances for specialist health care treatment. Taking an Indigenous Psychology orientation to "away-from-home" hospital admissions, we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International perspectives in psychology : research, practice, consultation practice, consultation, 2020-07, Vol.9 (3), p.180-184
Main Authors: Masters-Awatere, Bridgette, Murphy, Sarah, Helmhout, Toni Bailey, Flavell, Kahurimu, Cormack, Donna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil Rights
Client Transfer
Community Psychology
Female
Hospital Admission
Hospitalization
Human
Indigenous Populations
International Organizations
Male
Minority Groups
Political Attitudes
Traveling
Treatment
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Summary:New Zealand's National Travel Assistance scheme is intended to provide financial support for people who need to either travel frequently or over long distances for specialist health care treatment. Taking an Indigenous Psychology orientation to "away-from-home" hospital admissions, we broaden the focus beyond an individual's physical experience of hospitalization to the wider social and political context. Based on our research, we recommend a whānau-centered approach to travel assistance that will offer better coordination and remove factors negatively impacting whānau Māori (Indigenous families in New Zealand) health outcomes and contribute to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 of reducing inequality. Our research is congruent with the community psychology value of "accountability" and the World Health Organisation value of "better health for everyone, everywhere." Impact and Implications Māori cultural values place importance on being with a loved one during their time of illness. The National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme is intended to ease the financial burden of long-distance travel for specialist health care. Our interviews highlight that while well-intentioned, systematic barriers make access to NTA support hard for whānau Māori. A broader transformation to the health system will likely reduce the stressors that make the NTA necessary for whānau Māori in the first place. Our argument for a whānau-centered approach to reduce health inequalities during an away-from-home hospital admission is congruent with Sustainable Development Goal 10.
ISSN:2157-3883
2157-3891
DOI:10.1037/ipp0000140