Reaching out to reduce health inequities for Māori youth

This paper describes an initiative facilitating comprehensive assessment and delivery of brief interventions for Māori youth in Northland, New Zealand.

The population in Northland is predominantly Māori and is one of New Zealand's most deprived populations. Māori youth have the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world and elevated numbers of youth displaying mental health issues and/or risk behaviours are of grave national concern. Like Indigenous peoples worldwide, inequities persist for Māori youth accessing and engaging with healthcare services.

Taking services out to Māori youth in remote and isolated areas, Northland's youth specialist nurses are reducing some barriers to accessing health care. The youth version of the Case-finding and Help Assessment Tool is a New Zealand-developed, e-screening tool for youth psychosocial issues, facilitating comprehensive assessment and brief intervention delivery.

Early detection of, and timely intervention for, mental health and risk behaviours can significantly improve health outcomes in youth. However, for this to happen barriers preventing youth from accessing appropriate care need to be overcome.

Youth specialist nurses could improve access to care for youth from ethnic minorities, rural and isolated regions, and areas of high deprivation without overwhelming the medical profession.

Specialist nurses are trained and empowered to practice at the top of their scope. With general practitioner oversight and standing order sign off specialist nurses can work autonomously to improve access to health services, without increasing the workload of doctors.

Encouraging continuous self-reflection of the nurse's effectiveness in meeting patient needs, holistically and culturally, facilitates the provision of accessible care that is patient-centred and culturally safe.