ProCare introduces new equity initiatives

“We are making sure we are aligned with the ‘Pacific dimension’, the way of being for Pacific communities”

ProCare has announced a revised Pacific healthcare strategy alongside a new Pacific cultural competence app.

PHO chief executive Bindi Norwell says the strategy will “make sure we are aligned with the ‘Pacific dimension’, the way of being for Pacific communities…and make sure we are consulting with the community on how to best deliver our strategy.”

She says the key change to the Pacific strategy was the inclusion of annual population health goals which set targets for the delivery of services such as child immunisations and screenings for Pacific patients while supporting planning and community engagement.

The changes followed community consultation and reflect the lessons learned from the COVID-19 response which showed the utility of outreach services, she says.

ProCare network of practices, the largest in New Zealand, serves 30 per cent of the country’s enrolled population, and 49 per cent of Pacific community within the metro Auckland region.

Tala-Moana, the new Pacific cultural competence app, will be a valuable tool for GPs and their patients, says ProCare senior adviser for Pacific care Viv Pole.

“It’s available for anyone,” says Ms Pole. “Doctors or nurses can use it if they have a Tongan patient and need to find the right Tongan word for a body part.

“But it can also be used by our young people, New Zealand-born, who families use as spokespeople because they are fluent. They can use it to translate a doctor’s words back in the mother tongue.”

The app is a collaborative project between the ProCare and KIWA Digital, and is available as a free download. It offers health-specific translations in seven Pacific languages as well as guidance on cultural practices and social structures.

The cost of developing the app is being withheld for reasons of commercial sensitivity, but Tala-Moana follows the Māori cultural competency app, ihi, which has been downloaded 1500 times since its launch in November 2021.

The two initiatives follow a range of equity projects introduced by ProCare since its formal commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in June 2021.

Mrs Norwell refers to it as a “transformational journey” which so far includes Māori and Pacific health strategies, collaborative outreach projects, the consolidation of equity positions at leadership level, an equity guide for general practice, and the appointment of ProCare’s first clinical director, equity, Reza Jarral.

ProCare also operates Ara Hauora, a mobile health service, and has a two-FTE team working alongside health committees that have been set up in 14 Pacific churches.

“We have made a strong commitment to moving equity and whānau-centred care to the forefront of what we do,” says Mrs Norwell, “and we are now working more holistically with the community.

“We have goals we want to get to, and we are working with practices to help them achieve those goals.

“We know the practices are tired, there has been a lot happening, so it’s about finding practical ways to help and working with them.”