Māori Sleep Health Across the Lifespan: Scoping Review of New Zealand Research

Indigenous communities globally experience poorer health outcomes in comparison to non-Indigenous people. This holds true for Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand and these inequities include sleep health. We aimed to collate and summarise peer reviewed literature to understand where sleep health equity gaps lay to inform policy and future research. We conducted a systematic search of widely used literature databases using keywords including “sleep” and “Māori”. Eighty seven studies provided data on Māori sleep health versus non-Māori sleep health. Inequities were identified at all life stages and over all sleep health dimensions of sleep duration, efficiency, timing, alertness, and sleep quality. Socio-economic deprivation and unemployment were associated with poorer sleep health outcomes. We concluded that a public health policy for sleep that prioritises Māori and targets long-term, sustainable achievement of sleep health equity goals is required. Future sleep health research should aim to involve Māori at all stages.