Building the health sector’s understanding of Te Tiriti
In 2022, the updated Ngā paerewa Health and disability services standard (Ngā Paerewa) came into effect, reflecting the shift towards more person- and whānau-centred health and disability services. The HealthCERT team in the Ministry of Health needed to develop resources and training for health and disability service providers to be able to understand their obligations under the updated standard and implement the new requirements related to cultural safety.
This was a high-stakes project during a particularly challenging period, as the health sector navigated the constantly evolving circumstances of COVID-19. They simultaneously needed to manage the implementation of Ngā Paerewa, which had a significant impact on health providers, who needed to understand the criteria within Ngā Paerewa and how they could meet them.
We approached the project by first running a co-design workshop with a diversity of healthcare professionals from across the sector. From this workshop, we developed a high-level content map for the eLearning, defined the terms and language that would be used, and started to develop the look and feel of the eLearning interface.
The first module is a high-level introduction to te Tiriti o Waitangi requirements in Ngā Paerewa and how to meet the intent of those criteria. It’s also for anyone interested in gaining an entry-level understanding of te Tiriti o Waitangi and how its principles are applied in Aotearoa New Zealand’s health and disability sector.
The second module supports health and disability service providers to provide culturally responsive and safe care and support services for all, particularly for whānau Māori.
The eLearning modules include customised icons and bespoke illustrations, interactive quizzes to solidify knowledge, and video and audio excerpts of healthcare practitioners and key stakeholders around Aotearoa New Zealand.
As they give real-world examples of how healthcare providers can enact the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi in their work every day.
Both modules were developed in partnership with the sector and Te Apārangi: Māori Partnership Alliance (Te Apārangi) to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and accessible to the wide range of people who work in the healthcare sector.
As of 14 November 2024, 61,889 health workers had completed the first Ngā Paerewa Te Tiriti eLearning module and 30,336 had completed the second module. Importantly, this does not include versions hosted on other partners’ websites, so the actual completion numbers are even higher!
This uptake was a huge achievement and made the modules some of the Ministry of Health’s most popular eLearning courses. This reflects the increasing relevance and value of these learning resources for health providers.
