Descaription
The Otago region has a high proportion of youth and many students attending Otago University. The national Māori population has increased by 30% in the last 15 years and of this total there are 73, 230 living in the South Island, which is an increase of 13% since the 2006 census. The average annual Māori youth (15 to 24 years old) suicide rate between 2004 and 2008 for the Otago District Health Board (DHB) was 22.3% of the total rate. In the Southland DHB region Māori youth accounted for 54.5% of all suicides.
In Otago, Māori community indicators have rated suicide and self-harming as one of the area’s most in need of innovation and service investment. There is limited help seeking behaviour among the whānau in relation to self-harming and few completed suicides sought professional help.
A Southern region response plan:
This plan, was offered from a collective of health, and social service providers and community representatives already working with at-risk whānau and community, and supported by local and central government agencies which includes an Electronic referral (E-referral) system, embedded in the General Practitioner (GP) Southern Primary Health Organisation (PHO).
Referral through the E-referral system will ensure outpatients are followed up and achieve sustainable recovery and led by the coordination of key agencies that whānau come to, or can be referred to, in order to develop monitored care plans. This also has the potential to be rolled out to other locations. These activities support the overall outcomes of the Waka Hourua Fund.