An insider’s look at Mãori health
Anew podcast, Getting Better A Year in the Life of a Ma¯ ori Medical Student , hosted by Emma Espiner, details a year in Espiner’s life as a Ma¯ ori medical student, training to be a doctor within a health system she believes is prejudiced against Ma¯ ori.
A few things you should know about Espiner: she’s come to medicine in her early-30s, she’s a mother, an excellent orator and writer, and she’s trying to navigate the unconscious bias she sees in the New Zealand health care system.
The case presented for this bias is compelling: statistics on Ma¯ ori health reveal Ma¯ ori are less likely to receive prescriptions for the same illnesses as non-Ma¯ ori and they get sick younger and die earlier.
But this podcast doesn’t dwell in graphs and reports on inequity, each episode explores approaches to Ma¯ ori health with heart and feeling.
It’s ultimately Espiner’s story but as she travels all over New Zealand, she also shares some confronting stories.
The opening of the first episode features a wha¯ nau from Porirua who recount the terrifying night their father had a stroke and they had to navigate their way through the health system.
There are also impressive Ma¯ ori health providers taking a ‘‘Ma¯ ori, for Ma¯ ori’’ approach to mental health in Taira¯ whiti, where the suicide rate is double the national average.
The Government urgency and approach to Covid-19 is explored in the final episode of the seven-part series, and highlights the lack of urgency when it comes to Ma¯ ori health.
The scripting is exceptional, there are great sound effects and texture throughout, and the stories are handled in a respectful and meaningful way.
The podcast is produced by Bird of Paradise productions with RNZ, and the engine behind the scripting and production includes Noelle McCarthy and John Daniell.
All seven episodes of Getting Better are out now.