New Zealand European children are more likely to get better
asthma treatment than Maori and Pacific Island children, the
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation says.
An international survey, published by Dr Lis
Ellison-Loschmann from Massey University's Centre for Public
Health Research, found nearly a third of Maori children, a
quarter of Pacific Island children in New Zealand and a fifth
of New Zealand European children had asthma.
While the overall prevalence of asthma had not changed much
over the past decade, the number of New Zealand European
children with symptoms had decreased while the number of
Maori and Pacific Island children with the condition had
increased.
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation executive director Jane
Patterson told NZPA the prevalence of asthma among children
was much the same across all groups.
But New Zealand European children were "getting better
medication and education and therefore are not showing asthma
symptoms in the same way that you're getting with Maori and
Pacific children".
Maori children were less likely to receive adequate asthma
education, have an asthma action plan or be prescribed
preventative medication.
"They are not necessarily receiving the best care when they
see a health provider," Ms Patterson said.
Research had indicated this could be because of the cost,
access to transport and the telephone, and the attitude of
the provider, including discrimination.
There was quite a lot of effort going in to improving Maori
health and Maori health providers were a key tool in
educating about asthma, Ms Patterson said.
Pharmac, the government's drug buying agency, was also
trialling an asthma education initiative in Maori language
schools.
The survey questioned the parents or caregivers of just over
10,000 children aged six and seven, and more than 13,000 13
and 14-year-olds. It was part of an international survey of
about a million children in more than 100 countries, carried
out between 2001 and 2003.
Children from Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Nelson and
Christchurch participated.
It found that 28.5 percent of Maori had asthma symptoms, up
nearly 1 percent from a survey 10 years earlier, while
Pacific children showing symptoms had increased over 3
percent to 25.2 percent.
The number of New Zealand European children with asthma had
fallen by nearly 4 percent in the same period. Dr
Ellison-Loschmann said analysis of ethnic differences in New
Zealand made for striking results.
"When the same survey was done in 1992-1993, the ethnic
differences were smaller. Since then, asthma symptom
prevalence has stayed the same or increased in Maori and
Pacific children, but has decreased in Pakeha children.
"So now we have big ethnic differences, particularly for
younger children, which didn't exist 15 years ago."
Environmental factors such as parental smoking,
breastfeeding, family size, use of paracetamol and
antibiotics did not explain the disparity in differences, she
said.
Asthma prevalence and severity in Maori may not be due to a
higher incidence, but rather to a longer duration of the
condition resulting from reduced access to care, Dr
Ellison-Loschmann said.
Ethnic inequalities may also have been exacerbated by
variations in the access to asthma education.
Centre director Professor Neil Pearce said the time lag
between the survey and the release of the findings was due to
its extensive international scope, with the results of 250
separate centres having to be collated worldwide.
