Whaiora : Maori Health Development

Maori health development is about the trials and discoveries of the past, the energies and initiatives of the present, and the priorities and plans for the future. In this welcome second edition of Whaiora, Mason Durie documents progress in Maori health development over the past century, placing special emphasis on the last fifteen years. He draws connections between changes in Maori leadership, Maori political power, and government health policy. Using the twin standards of the Treaty of Waitangi and biculturalism, he examines past policies, health reforms, Maori health leadership and the major health problems currently facing Maori.

This second edition of Whaiora deserves to be widely read. It takes account of changed government objectives for Maori health and shifting Maori priorities for health development. Not only does it demolish some misleading stereotypes, but it also offers a comprehensive account of the cultural, environmental, social, economic and political factors that contribute to standards of health among Maori.