PhD Thesis - ResearchSpace@Auckland - The University of Auckland

Nevertheless the IAS can only be regarded as a ‘fringe’ group, as with few active
members it was unable to exert any real pressure to induce change.
Maori and Pacific Island Parents
Families of low socio-economic status or whose first language was not English were
perceived by the Health Department to be those least likely to complete the routine
childhood immunisations. 76 Special attention was given to areas such as South
Auckland, especially during immunisation campaigns such as the one for
meningococcal meningitis A in 1987. 77
Health initiatives were increasingly targeted at Maori and extra resources made
available, although it was usually areas, not racial groups, that were distinguished. In
South Auckland, Plunket was given a contract by the government in 1977 to give care
to all children under five years old in an effort to improve standards of health. This
included immunisation, and Plunket nurses would either take those children that
needed it to their appointments or would administer the necessary shots themselves. 78
One Plunket nurse, who worked in the South Auckland areas of Otara and Mangere
for seven years, commented that it was much more difficult to get children immunised
there than in the more affluent, middle-class suburb of Pakuranga where she had
worked previously. ‘It wasn’t that they didn’t agree with it, it wasn’t really a health
issue, but they couldn’t be bothered or perhaps we didn’t put it over properly but they
didn’t understand how important it was. We did our best, we talked to them, and a lot
would get the injections but quite a lot wouldn’t’. 79 Other issues, such as owing the
doctor money for previous visits, (even though immunisation was free), having
transport to get to the doctors or clinic, and the lack of a household telephone, all
made immunisation much more problematic. A study of attitudes to immunisation in
76 See L. Calder, ‘What is the best way to inform high-risk groups about Hepatitis B immunisation? A
survey by Polynesian community health workers’, unpublished paper, 1988. The survey, of
predominantly Polynesian people from lower socio-economic suburbs, found that at least 56 percent
had not taken their preschoolers for the immunisation.
77 See Chapter 8, pp.257-63.
78 For further discussion on the South Auckland contract see, L. Bryder, A Voice for Mothers. The
Plunket Society and Infant Welfare 1907-2000, Auckland, 2003, pp.236-40.
79 Interview with J. Young, 9 May 2002, Plunket nurse.
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