This travel issue impacts our Indigenous Māori population to a much greater extent than it impacts our non-Māori population. Around 25% of Māori live in rural areas, compared to 20% of NZ Europeans, 7% Pasifika and 5% Asian—and nearly a third (32%) of those who live in the most remote areas of Aotearoa are Māori.
Accurate ethnicity data are important because they are used to quantify health inequities, including monitoring trends in disease rates and healthcare delivery. In relation to Māori health equity, high-quality ethnicity data in health are also an obligation under Te Tiriti.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, which has experienced marked increases in inequality, early onset T2D disproportionately affects the Indigenous Māori population, Pacific people (Pasifika), and those of South Asian descent.
Intra-abdominal speargun injuries are less common than cranio-facial injuries but their occurrence, such as in the case reported here, highlights the need for users to be familiar with safe practice.
In the early part of 1922 seven cases of encephalitis lethargica were treated at the Apia Hospital, and, as these are the first cases to be recognized in Samoa, they appear worthy of being reported.