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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 is 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 exist 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 present unique national contexts in which to examine issues related to current day healthcare quality and equity.

 

Sarah and her collaborators in New Zealand and Australia will take 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 aim to​ better understand health service users experiences and provider and policy-maker perspectives on healthcare disparities and inequities for these two populations. The ultimate goal is to explore how health service users' perspectives and recommendations may be best incorporated into policy decisions and healthcare delivery that aim to improve equity in healthcare.

 

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

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Investigators

Health Promotion and Policy

University of

Massachusetts - Amherst

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Victoria University of Wellington

Te Herenga Waka

Health Services Research Centre

Victoria University of Wellington

Te Herenga Waka

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Sarah L. Goff, MD, PhD

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