New Zealand Polynesian women’s access to information about cervical screening

Abstract

Immigration by Pacific Island people into New Zealand has raised issues of equal access to a range of government and social services, including health information. This study reports on an investigation of access to information by women in Pacific Island cultures resident in Palmerston North. The New Zealand health environment is quickly changing and features market‐style reforms, greater accent on privately‐funded health schemes and an ideological shift in the direction of individual responsibility for one’s health. We describe what we found to be the major impediments to quality of health information accessible by Pacific Island women and conclude with proposals for changes and developments in public health communications.