Review of the Health (Cervical Screening (Kaitiaki)) Regulations 1995
Balancing the protection of aggregate Maori women’s cervical screening data with the need to use data so that the National Cervical Screening Programme can be monitored and evaluated to ensure it is safe and effective for Maori women
Date of publication: March 2002
Executive Summary
This document has been developed as a result of the recommendation of the Committee of Inquiry into the Under-Reporting of Cervical Smear Abnormalities in the Gisborne Region. The discussion document puts forward the Ministry of Health’s proposals for addressing the recommendations of the Gisborne Inquiry relating to the Kaitiaki Regulations. The results of this consultation will form the basis of decisions to be made concerning those Regulations. This review of the Kaitiaki Regulations is part of wider Ministry of Health activity to implement the recommendations of the Gisborne Inquiry.
The document provides a brief summary of the Maori concepts of health, cervical cancer, the National Cervical Screening Programme (the Programme), the National Cervical Screening Programme Register (the Programme Register), the National Kaitiaki Group (the Kaitiaki Group), and the motivation for changing the Kaitiaki Regulations (The Kaitiaki Regulations are presented in Appendix One).
Principles
The second part of this document discusses the competing principles that need to be balanced in order for the Programme to operate effectively and in a manner that is acceptable to Maori women. The two principles that need to be taken into account in the review of the Kaitiaki Regulations are:
- the control and protection of Maori women’s data to ensure it is used to benefit Maori women and that the aggregate data of Maori women is not applied in a way that reflects negatively on Maori
- the need for the Programme to have access to aggregate data relating to Maori women from the Programme Register in order to monitor and evaluate the Programme (and take action to address identified problems and improve the Programme).
Options
This document provides four different options for the future role and scope of the Kaitiaki Group and its relationship with the National Cervical Screening Programme. They are:
- the status quo (existing system) with improved processes for the Programme to access information
- exempt the Programme from needing approval from the Kaitiaki Group: the Programme is required to comply with the criteria of the Regulations
- exempt the Programme from the Kaitiaki Regulations
- dissolution of the Kaitiaki Group.
Each of these options creates a different balance between the principles.
Document availability
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