​Q4A Lab founder and leader Sarah Goff received a Fulbright Scholar Award to study healthcare equity in New Zealand during the Spring Semester 2025. Sarah was intrigued by te Tiriti o Waitangi, a partnership between indigenous Māori and the British Crown signed in 1840. The Treaty was interpreted as establishing the Crown and Māori as equal partners, a unique relationship in colonial times. Despite the Treaty and a universal health care system, health disparities existed in New Zealand. The two countries' differing political landscapes, healthcare system structures, and the Treaty's contrast to U.S. colonial history with indigenous peoples presented unique national contexts in which to examine issues related to healthcare quality and equity.

​

Sarah and her collaborators in New Zealand and Australia took advantage of complementary expertise and experiences. Focusing on two priority populations in New Zealand—maternal health and care for disabled people—Sarah and her team aimed to better understand health service users’ experiences and provider and policy-maker perspectives on healthcare disparities and inequities for these two populations. Their ultimate goal was to explore how health service users' perspectives and recommendations could be incorporated into policy decisions and healthcare delivery to improve equity in healthcare.

​

Health disparities and healthcare inequities were complex global issues. Critically exploring new paradigms for how healthcare quality and equity were measured and reported through health service users’ eyes advanced efforts to improve health services for groups that experienced poorer health outcomes in New Zealand, the U.S., and other countries.