The perspectives of Māori on community treatment orders: A thematic analysis

To understand the themes for Māori subjected to compulsory community treatment orders.

The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 has been utilised in Aotearoa New Zealand for more than three decades. Despite Māori having higher rates of being subject to community treatment orders, there is little research examining their perspectives of its benefits and harms.

Thematic analysis of a purposive sample of Māori in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Five themes were developed. Māori described community treatment orders as restrictive and stigmatising. Some Māori described being poorly informed of the structures surrounding the use of community treatment orders and saw it as a mechanism to circumvent information-giving regarding treatment. Counterbalancing these, Māori described community treatment orders as mandating support and saw them as a mechanism to access care. Finally, some described their compulsory treatment status as unimportant and irrelevant.

Thematic analysis identified five clear themes from interview participants. Conceptualisation of community treatment orders was largely negative, although Māori acknowledged that being subject to community treatment orders demanded more support from services. Themes of stigma and restriction are common in the literature, however, conception of the use of community treatment orders to bypass consent is novel. The literature describes community treatment orders as providing support, however, in this study, the interpretation suggests a need to lose personal autonomy to receive care, a potentially 'slippery slope' towards a two-tier type service. These findings remind services of the importance of attending to cultural elements of care, being clear around the process of consent. In terms of policy, weaving in cultural understanding appears to be important from an Indigenous perspective.