Lay summary
A cardiac arrest – when a person’s heart suddenly stops beating – is a medical emergency. Rural Māori are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and have some of the highest incidence of cardiac arrest. Without an urgent community response, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), cardiac arrest will be fatal.
To remove barriers for Māori people to contact ambulance services and develop a more responsive community-based service, our study proposes to implement a new model of emergency health services – Te Manawaroa first responders.
This will be a culturally designed and Te Triti-focused mana Māori Motuhake (by Māori for Māori) model of health delivery undertaken in partnership between Te Rōpū Manawaora (Kaikohe, Māori advisory board), Auckland University of Technology and Hato Hone St John, which will be implemented and evaluated to improve equity and clinical effectiveness of rural EMS.