Working with Māori to reduce seclusion and restraint
Promote and support
As rates of seclusion reduce in New Zealand it’s extremely concerning that recent figures and reports (Ministry of Health, 2016), continue to indicate Māori people who access mental health and addiction services still experience significantly higher rates of seclusion than non-Māori.
Research and recommendations to inform practice improvement, specific to working with Māori and reducing seclusion, were published between 2012-2014 and are available to download in the resource section of this page (below).
Te Pou works in consultation with Te Rau Ora and district health boards to promote and support a positive and least restrictive practice direction with and for Māori people. In addition to the resources below, Te Rau Ora have a range of publications available on their website and programmes that promote, support and guide Māori mental health best practice including least restrictive approaches.
Work to establish which recommendations have been implemented - and resulted in positive outcomes - from the 2012-2014 research (and other supporting publications) is now planned.
Communicating innovation and best practice approaches that result in reduced seclusion within the wider sector is a key strategy to informing and supporting tāngata whai ora, whānau staff members and service leaders.
Reference:
Ministry of Health. 2016. Office of the Director of Mental Health Annual Report 2015. Wellington: Ministry of Health.
