ABSTRACT
Neuropsychological tests are routinely used to assess Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, yet very few investigations of the psychometric properties of these tests with this population have been conducted. This paper focuses on factors that may impact performance of Maori adults on neuropsychological testing. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) was administered to a sample of 284 Maori stratified for age (between 16 years and 90 years) and gender in order to establish a Maori normative data set. The sample who primarily spoke English as their first language were recruited from a range of urban, regional and rural areas in New Zealand to obtain representation of the main Maori Iwi (tribes). Analysis of test results suggests acculturation, education, income, and, "a culturally positive experience" may have accounted for some of the variance in test performance.
Subject(s)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander/psychology , Wechsler Scales , Acculturation , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Educational Status , Female , Humans , Income/statistics & numerical data , Male , Middle Aged , New Zealand , Young AdultABSTRACT
The associations among family factors, acculturation, and the risk of regular smoking among Asian youth were investigated in a nationally representative survey in New Zealand. The strong relationships between protective family factors and lower risks of smoking were not attenuated in the presence of indicators suggestive of acculturation.
Subject(s)
Acculturation , Parent-Child Relations , Smoking/ethnology , Adolescent , Asia/ethnology , Child , Family , Health Surveys , Humans , Logistic Models , New Zealand/epidemiology , Smoking/epidemiology , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
Substantial progress has been made in Maori health and disability workforce development in the past 15 years. Key factors in successful programs to increase Maori health workforce recruitment and retention include Maori leadership, mentorship and peer support; and comprehensive support within study programs and in the transitions between school, university and work. The interventions to date provide a strong basis for ongoing action to address inequities in Maori health workforce participation, and are likely to be relevant to health workforce development approaches for other indigenous peoples.
