New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline - Ministry of Health

Part 7: Mäori perspectives
Part 7
7.1 Literature review
Methodology
A full and comprehensive literature search
was undertaken. The specific objective of the
literature search was to identify evidence-based
information relevant, or directly pertaining, to
Mäori and ASD.
The scope of the literature search was
constrained to peer-reviewed publications
by accredited scholars and researchers. Both
quantitative and qualitative research was
sought. Search categories were identified and
cross-referenced with main terms appearing in
annotated bibliographies reporting on Mäori
health and disabilities information.
Salient differences between an international and
New Zealand context were also taken note of in
preparation of the search. For example, evident
within, in particular, some of the American and
British literature is the continued use of the
descriptor ‘race’ or labels of colour (ie, black,
white) to describe different ethnic groups. A
search was conducted using the descriptor ‘race’,
although it is acknowledged that the notion of
‘race’ itself has been scientifically discredited.
No search was undertaken using the labels
of colour. Search tips on Mäori and evidence,
recommended by the New Zealand Health
Technology Assessment were also used.
Various combinations of the following terms
were used to conduct the search:
• Mäori
• ethnicity
• race
• minority
• indigenous
• New Zealand
• New Zealander
• aboriginal
• tangata whenua
• whänau
• culture
• autistic spectrum disorder
• autistic disorder
• autism
• Asperger(s)
• ASD
• infantile autism
• mental retardation.
International and national databases searched
included the fields of health sciences, education,
life sciences (social and behavioural), disabilities,
multidisciplinary fields, and Mäori health.
Databases included, but were not limited
to: Te Puna, Social Science Citations Index,
MEDLINE, PsycINFO, OVID, Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews, VOYAGER
and Index New Zealand (INNZ) Online.
E-journals specifically relevant to ASD were also
searched for articles published from the year
2000 onwards using the key terms noted above.
The Google search engine was also employed
to identify websites addressing Mäori health,
mental health, and ASD (international and
national sites) specifically, and these were also
searched for evidence-based information.
Literature selected to be included in the
review commented directly on cultural
concerns relating to assessment, diagnostic
and management issues involving ASD
specifically. The broadening of the search
objective to cultural concerns was necessary
because currently there is no evidence-based
information available that reports directly or
indirectly on Mäori and ASD. For the purposes
of this part of the New Zealand ASD Guideline,
evidence-based information has been defined
as that which satisfies standard conventions
of systematic search methodology and criteria
of evaluation. The review included limited
international and national literature. The
rationale for integrating the material was due
to the dearth of literature available. With these
caveats in mind, the review undertaken is best
regarded as an initial exploratory examination.
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New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline