Maori youth are disproportionately affected by poor sexual health outcomes compared to their Non-Maori peers. This presentation will describe the sexual health behaviours of Maori youth and their access to sexual health services from a nationally representative youth health survey. Secondary analysis was conducted with Maori participants in the New Zealand health and well-being surveys of secondary school students aged 12-18 years in 2007.
Fifty five percent (55.3%) of Maori students use contraception all the time to prevent pregnancy and 41.1% always use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections. Maori students (55.0%) are less likely to use contraception to prevent pregnancy compared to NZ European/Pakeha students (70.4%) (p <0.0001) and are less likely (41.0%) to use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections compared to NZ European/Pakeha students (56.4%) (p<0.0001).
Females (11.1%) were more likely to report difficulty getting contraception-related healthcare compared to males (5.4%). Similarly, females (10.0%) had more difficulty getting healthcare for pregnancy related issues compared to males (1.4%). Maori students were significantly more likely to report difficulty accessing healthcare for contraception (Maori 8.3%, NZ European/Pakeha 4.8% p<0.0001) and pregnancy related issues (Maori 5.7%, NZ European/Pakeha 2.3% p<0.0001).
Maori students report less consistent contraception use than Pakeha/NZ European students, and they also report significant difficulties accessing sexual health services and care. Sexual health services and clinicians must seek to be more responsive to the unique needs of Maori youth to reduce health inequities.
