Lay summary
Racism is increasingly recognised as an important health determinant and driver of ethnic inequalities. Most studies have focussed on self-reported direct experience of racism at an individual level and the negative impact this has on health. This study will examine how other markers of racism may impact on Maori health and inequalities primarily using data from the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey. It will specifically investigate emerging areas in racism and health research internationally, namely 'socially-assigned' ethnicity (how society usually classifies you ethnically), 'ethnic consciousness' (how often you think about your ethnicity) and 'ethnic density' (the proportion of people of the same ethnic group living in a given area), and how these relate to Maori health outcomes and inequalities. It will contribute to the limited research on racism and indigenous health and support a broader understanding of racism as a health determinant in order to inform anti-racist interventions.