A Māori-centred, qualitative study used focus groups to explore kaiāwhina (Māori community health workers) perspectives on supporting whānau Māori with chronic pain. Kaiāwhina (n = 13) from the greater Wellington region participated in the study. Key themes identified were: (1) chronic pain treatment in primary health relies solely on medication, (2) there is an urgent need for health literacy approaches to pain management, (3) Māori have significant unmet need for culturally responsive pain management, and (4) in Māori communities, the availability of, and referral practices to, specialist pain services are inadequate. The authors stated that developing new initiatives to address management of chronic pain in Māori must be Māori-led and codesigned with whānau if they are to result in holistic solutions.
