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National | Health

Study shows Māori keen for doctors and healers to collaborate

Latest research shows that Māori are keen for traditional rongoā Māori healers and doctors to work together on managing their health. However, many seriously doubt that doctors would be open to such an arrangement.

Dr Glenis Mark (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tahu) has explored the views of Māori on rongoā Māori healers in primary health care as part of a Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) Māori health postdoctoral fellowship through Whakauae Research Services.

She interviewed Māori who use both rongoā Māori healers and doctors in mainstream primary health care, and Māori who use doctors only.

Dr Mark says the majority of the study’s participants wanted the option to receive treatment from both rongoā Māori healers and doctors. There's strong support for healers and doctors collaborating on a patient’s health care outside of the treatment sessions.

“Most participants believed that rongoā healing and mainstream health care both have their strengths and weaknesses, and that they would receive better health care than they do currently if healers and doctors talked with each other about the treatments they were offering,” says Dr Mark.

Participants saw the relationship between the healers and doctors as the greatest barrier to integrating the two different forms of treatment.

“Their main concern was how doctors would react to rongoā Māori healers,” says Dr Mark.

Currently, the two treatment systems operate separately. Dr Mark says that many Māori patients already visit both rongoā Māori healers and doctors, often without telling either one about visiting the other. Which treatment they opt for depends on how they categorise their illness. If their illness is more psychosocial or spiritual in nature, they will tend to go to a Māori healer, whereas if it is directly medical, such as a broken leg, they will go to their doctor.

“Many of the participants wouldn’t tell their doctor that they were also going to a healer for fear of criticism or ridicule. In cases like these, the opportunity for collaborative treatment, which could provide the best of both worlds in terms of health and healing treatment for patients, is lost,” says Dr Mark.

There are doctors who are working with healers – and working well – but Dr Mark says she’s found that these doctors often come from South Africa where they are trained to work with traditional healers.

“An exciting finding from the research is that Māori are taking responsibility for their total wellbeing, in seeking out the expertise of both healers and doctors. This should be of interest to health professionals and policymakers alike, as rongoā Māori is clearly seen as one of a suite of health care services that consumers are choosing to use,” says Dr Boulton.

Following on from this research, Dr Mark plans to gauge the views of doctors on alternative treatments and working with rongoā Māori healers.