An oral health intervention for the Maori Indigenous population of New Zealand: Oranga niho Maori (Maori oral health) as a component of the undergraduate dental curriculum in New Zealand

摘要

Maori are the Indigenous people of New Zealand having migrated across the Pacific from Hawaiki over a 500 year period from 800AD to 1300AD establishing a society based on whanau (family), hapu (subtribe) and iwi (tribe). Today, like other Indigenous populations throughout the world, New Zealand Maori do not enjoy the same oral health status as non-Maori across all age groups. An intervention strategy to improve Maori oral health and to reduce disparities is to develop a dental health workforce that has an understanding of contemporary Maori society and Maori oral health. The Faculty of Dentistry (Te Kaupeka Puniho) of the University of Otago has a well developed undergraduate programme in Maori culture and Maori oral health. This programme has been reinforced by the adoption of a new Maori Strategic Framework (MSF) which has been designed to be "a vibrant contributor to Maori development and the realisation of Maori aspirations." Goal 5 of the MSF, Nga Whakahaerenga Pal (Quality Programmes) has the objective to develop and integrate Maori content in the undergraduate course. This paper will discuss the oranga niho Maori (Maori oral health) component of the undergraduate dental curriculum.