Kaupapa Māori digital gambling harm service to reduce inequities

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Te Aka Whai Ora will invest $1.35 million in an innovative kaupapa Māori digital gambling harm service.

A Registration of Interest (ROI) says the new service will be nationally accessible and designed for Māori, who are more than three times more likely to be moderate-risk or problem gamblers than non-Māori.

The Māori Health Authority is looking for a "hauora Māori partner or collaborative of partners to develop a new and innovative digital/virtual service and ways to respond to gambling harm to address inequities and destigmatisation through the use of digital and virtual tools and resources to support self-assessment, wellbeing and resiliency,” the ROI says.

The new partner "may develop or support and promote a web-based application that works on a wide range of devices where whānau have access to self-assessment tools, wellbeing and resiliency tools and access to 24- hour support when experiencing gambling harm or the impacts of gambling harm”.

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Funding will be $1.354M for two years from January 2024 – December 2025 and the successful Hauora Māori partner will be supported to establish the service in partnership with Te Aka Whai Ora, lived experience leadership and the voices of whānau driving the service design process.

Te Rukutia Tongaawhikau, GM Hapori at Raukura Hauora o Tainui, which delivers kaupapa Māori health services in the Waikato and Taamaki region, supports the idea of a digital service for gambling harm.

Raukura Hauora o Tainui currently provides a face-to-face gambling harm service, but Tongaawhikau would like to develop digital solutions for all their services, including drug and alcohol and mental health.

“Digital solutions and self-help tools reduce barriers, especially for our rural communities or those that are not able to see people face-to-face,” she says.

"There are so many people who need help and there is a lot of stigma for people talking about their gambling harm. Being able to go online and find tools and services you can connect to is definitely a step in the right direction," says Tongaawhikau

"A digital service means that you do not have to have as many people working one-to-one, so it alleviates the workload and spreads it out. It is also about Tino rangatiratanga as you can get your own information and decide for yourself what your pathway might be."

She says there are issues around people not having access to mobiles and data which need to be addressed when offering digital solutions, but there is also a “staggering increase of people gambling online”.

The Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling harm 2022-2025 puts a greater focus on equity and reducing gambling harm for priority populations (Māori, Pacific peoples, Asian peoples and young people / rangatahi).

The ROI says "Hauora Māori partners who are interested in this opportunity will need to demonstrate their connectedness to their communities, dedication and commitment to working in partnership, and most importantly reflect the values and vision of our communities for a future where gambling harm is prevented”.

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