enhancing food security and physical activity for maori, pacific and ...

Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income PeoplesCost benefit analysisNo cost-benefit analyses were identified in the international literature.National Literature Review/ScanThe terms ‘developing capacity or ‘capacity building’ are frequently used and dependingon the context can have numerous meanings. In New Zealand, the development,implementation and evaluation of culturally-specific physical activity programmes arepotentially challenged by a lack of Māori and Pacific human resource, particularly withthe desire for Māori and Pacific culturally-specific programmes to be delivered by Māoriand Pacific people. The literature scan identified ten physical activity or healthy lifestylesinitiatives that included an element of capacity development. This list is by no meansexhaustive, but rather provides examples of successful approaches.The New Zealand Health Workforce Framing Future Directions discussion document 25provides a summary of workforce issues for Māori and suggestions for building Māoriheath workforce capacity (for the entire document seewww.hwac.govt.nz/publications/discussiondocument/4BuildingMāoriHealthWorkforceCapacity.pdf). Many of these suggestions are relevant to this chapter and will besummarised here. The document defined ‘capacity’ to include the “development ofpeople, structures and resources so that communities have the necessary sustainablecompetencies and expertise to develop and maintain their desired level of health andwellbeing” (p.63). Capacity building supports ‘bottom-up’ development and Māori effortsto develop their own solutions for local issues. The development of the Māori workforcewas identified as a key strategy for supporting Māori participation in the health sectorand improving Māori health. The aim of developing Māori capacity is to ensure that thenumbers, skill mix and qualifications of the Māori health workforce are available to meetthe health needs of Māori communities and New Zealand society generally.The Tertiary Education Advisory Committee (TEAC) provided the following high-levelstrategies for developing workforce capacity.• Enhanced co-ordination of workforce strategies and initiatives throughdevelopment of a national Māori workforce strategy. It recommended that thisbe developed and agreed by Māori and the Crown with stakeholder support.This national Māori workforce strategy would need to have the support of allkey stakeholders. National strategy and co-ordination of funding could assistDHBs, in collaboration with Māori development organisations, to establish localMāori workforce development plans and to meet local needs.• District Health Boards (DHBs) were highlighted as the key stakeholders interms of employing Māori health workers. It was recommended that DHBs workwith Māori health development organisations and other key stakeholders toidentify current workforce capacity and population needs, as well as to developa Māori health workforce development plan, including identification of funding,specific targets or key performance indicators, and timeframes.• The development of a knowledge base on which workforce initiatives work bestfor Māori. The commission of research that evaluates the implementation ofcurrent workforce policy and interventions should provide an evidence base forfuture planning.157