RESUMO
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Research highlighting Indigenous patient perspectives is essential in the pursuit of understanding and addressing longstanding health inequities. BACKGROUND: Evidence indicates that disparities in ocular health outcomes between Maori and non-Maori are pervasive in the New Zealand health system. Evidence shows the cause of these inequities is often multifactorial; due to factors such as colonisation, ongoing marginalisation, racism, socioeconomic status, poverty and culturally unsafe practice between health professionals and Maori patients. METHODS: This project used kaupapa Maori methodology to identify the perceptions of Maori surrounding ocular healthcare within a Maori context in Aotearoa New Zealand. Three focus groups with Maori community members and three individual interviews with Maori eyecare practitioners were conducted. Participants discussed sub-topics relating to Maori health, ocular health consultations, ocular examination and access to ocular health services in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken using NVivo qualitative research software. RESULTS: Five key themes were derived from the data: (1) the importance of effective clinician-patient communication; (2) historical experiences of patients inform their health attitudes; (3) barriers to access are systemic; (4) Maori health is important to Maori and (5) Te Ao Maori, Tikanga and Tapu are significant cultural concepts for Maori. Overall, Maori patients recognise the value of ocular healthcare and the importance of acknowledging Maori models of health within services. CONCLUSION: The key issues Maori patients face within ocular health services resonate strongly with wider concepts intrinsically important to Maori. These are the right to cultural safety within clinical settings, the right to accurate and pertinent communication of information between clinician and patient and the respect of cultural beliefs and acknowledgement of power imbalances within the wider healthcare system. Participant discussions and suggestions raise possible pathways to begin addressing ocular ethnic disparities in healthcare delivery.