Ethnicity data, Māori health and ethnic inequalities

There is an ongoing need for high quality, standardised ethnicity data in the health sector. This data is essential for measuring, monitoring, and addressing health inequalities in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It is also important in developing policies and programmes that are responsive, relevant to, and in line with Māori priorities.

In 2007, Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare commenced a project funded by the Ministry of Health to identify key current and future issues in ethnicity data, and to examine the potential implications on the Māori health sector of changes within the broader context of ethnicity data policies and practices in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

As part of the project, a number of seminars were held and a series of discussion papers are being produced. In addition, the project identified a range of people with an ongoing interest in the topic area. This website aims to facilitate the dissemination of findings of the project, as well as to provide a vehicle for ongoing information-sharing on this topic area.