Māori with aphasia: a people without a voice?

This literature review aimed to investigate whether Māori with aphasia and their whānau are being included in research. A second aim was to identify what, if any, specific outcomes or concerns have been reported. Although the prevalence and incidence of aphasia in the Māori population is unknown, it is likely to be relatively high, given the high rate of stroke among Māori.

We provide a background to Māori health, stroke, aphasia and rehabilitation. A standard review of the literature was conducted in the online databases PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, and Google Scholar. We searched "Māori" AND "aphasia" and "Māori" AND "dysphasia" as "anywhere in text" and as a keyword with no limits placed on publication dates.

The search revealed no articles that involve Māori with aphasia and none that address aphasia in the Māori population. Four articles involved Māori participants with stroke or a condition linked to communication disorders and specifically addressed either culture or ethnicity in their observations or results. We consider possible explanations for this apparent lack of Māori with aphasia as participants in research, and conclude that the investigation of aphasia in Māori requires an approach that involves Māori with aphasia and their whānau, in a way that is culturally appropriate enabling them to have a voice.