Lay summary
Chronic pain among the general population is a major burden on individuals, the health care system, and society. Health professionals in Aotearoa/New Zealand use various models and tools for measuring pain. Many of these models have been developed and tested for cultural appropriateness in other countries. Given that Maori are indigenous to Aotearoa/New Zealand, it is pertinent that assessment measures used in Aotearoa accordingly capture Maori realities and are culturally appropriate. If Maori perspectives are not considered and incorporated within pain measurement tools used in Aotearoa, this may lead to further discriminatory practice or further isolate Maori from receiving adequate physiotherapy services. This project will evaluate the evidence on whether the current assessment tools used in Aotearoa by health professionals are culturally sensitive and appropriate for Maori populations, and will assess the evidence for models of pain that have captured the Maori experiences of pain using qualitative research methodologies.