Supporting Equitable Aged Care Access: Feasibility and Acceptability Pilot Study of a Paeārahi-Facilitated interRAI Self-Assessment Model for Indigenous Elders

An interRAI assessment is required for older people in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) to access public aged care services. Paeārahi (Māori health navigators) provide culturally-appropriate, connected healthcare. We investigated the feasibility and acceptability of paeārahi-facilitated Check Up Self Report (CU-SR) completion with older Māori in NZ. Prospective non-randomised, non-comparator intervention study in one NZ health practice with eligible participants (Māori, 55 years or older, community-dwelling, not known to require formal needs assessment). Predefined feasibility and acceptability outcomes were reported using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Participants (n = 50, mean 65.3 years, 66% female) felt most CU-SR items were acceptable. Paeārahi-facilitated assessment and care planning were generally acceptable and feasible to undertake and perceived to improve healthcare access. Paeārahi-facilitated CU-SR assessment and care planning is a scalable model utilising a culturally appropriate, non-regulated Indigenous health workforce and an internationally validated assessment with the potential to identify unmet need and address inequities in aged care access.