What a debt this country owes to the late Professor Eru Woodbine Pomare. A leader in medicine and medical research, for over a decade Pomare used a formidable array of skills to galvanise the nation into positive action on Maori health. Untiring in his efforts to attract Maori into the health field, he was a popular, respected and dedicated communicator on marae and other platforms nationwide. For the medical profession and health planners, he produced quality research. He is credited with more than 70 publications and he compiled statistical information in a concise format which highlighted the urgent need to expand health services beyond the monocultural if they were to be compatible with the health needs of te iwi Maori.

Hauora: Maori Standards of Health III - A study of the years 1970-1991 is the third in a series of Professor Pomare's comprehensive studies on the health status of the Maori population. It is a series that covers a timeframe of 36 years. This new publication usefully extends, and brings up-to-date, the original publication of Maori Standards of Health - A study of the 20-year period 1955-1975 and the document that followed in 1988, Hauora: Maori Standards of Health - A study of the years 1970-1984, which Pomare co-authored with Gail de Boer.

Hauora: Maori Standards of Health III again provides statistics and tables which give a picture of Maori health in relation to non-Maori. Analysis and commentary complement statistics to give a fuller portrayal of Maori health. Statistics alone may show differences in health status, but are of limited use unless there is informed interpretation to highlight causes of differences and to point to remedial action.

This volume also draws attention to Maori ill-health being to a great extent as a result of socio-economic and socio-cultural factors which have their roots in colonisation, and the struggle to adapt to rapid change arising from post-World War Two urbanisation. Until the grievances arises from the failure to honour the Treaty of Waitangi are resolved, Maori ill-health will remain a problem. Smoking, obesity, alcohol abuse and poor diet are largely symptoms of economic and educational disadvantage and until incomes and scholastic attainments are improved, they will continue to inflict ill-health, premature death and sorrow on te iwi Maori.

The past decade has witnessed a notable increase in Maori participation in health care and health promotion. Many more Maori are entering the health professions, especially as nurses and health planners, and frequently they have a strong sense of mission towards the wellbeing of their own people. Government sponsorship of iwi projects and grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand which have assisted in the establishment of two health research centres, Te Pumanawa Hauora ki Manawatu at Massey University and Te Pumanawa Hauora ki te Whanganui-a-Tara at the Wellington School of Medicine, are leading to increased empowerment of te iwi Maori. At present, however, constitutional and political structures can frustrate Maori efforts to steer their own waka.

How sad that the initiator of the Maori Standards of Health series did not live to see this latest publication. The deep sense of loss experienced on 19 January 1995 as he was laid to rest at Hongoeka Pa, Plimmerton, to the accompaniment of the copious tears of Rangi, will linger in Maoridom and the medical world.

Eru Pomare was a visionary. Our best tribute to a man whose counsel, research, writing and persuasive advocacy gave so much to Maori health, is for each of us to continue working towards his goal of a diminished disparity between Maori and non-Maori standards of health.

- Erihapeti Murchie

The second report developed that assessment to 1984. It showed that the incidence of disease and mortality was still higher for Maori than non-Maori. It also extended the analysis to consider factors which might account for the differences. The Maori community had long considered that socio-economic, self-esteem and cultural factors were of major importance to wellbeing and that some of the health differences were the inevitable result of the difficulties associated with monoculturalism. The second report examined these factors as possible contributors to ill health.

This third volume of Hauora: Maori Standards of Health continues to monitor trends in Maori health indicators and updates the series to the year 1991. It is divided into three sections.

The first section paints a picture of the environment of the years under review, including the demographic environment, the policy environment, the influence of Maori development, and models for analysing Maori health. The second section reviews and compares trends in mortality, hospitalisation rates and takes a more indepth look at cancer and mental health. The third section reviews key issues which are known to influence health outcomes. These include socioeconomic factors, health risk behaviours and health services.

The key points, in Maori, have been presented in a new section He Puwhakaooho i o Koutou Hinengaro, and provide an executive summary to this report.

The report covers the period 1985 to 1991 and compares these years with those studied in previous volumes of Hauora to enable comment on trends. During the time of the analysis, hospital discharge data became available for 1992 and this most up-to-date data was used for chapter 4. While this timeframe covers a period of significant state sector reform, it does not include the period of the health reforms.

In recent years, some Crown agencies have published reviews of Maori health. Hauora contains some key differences from these analyses. The main significance of the Hauora series is that it presents a Maori analysis of available health information.