NATIVE HYGIENE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20051, 20 January 1928, Page 8

NATIVE HYGIENE

CONDITIONS IMPROVING OVERCOMING PREJUDICES. 1 Special ** Cftroniei® ” service 1 AUCKLAND, Jan. 19. The question of instructing children in Alaori schools in health matters waa discussed at a conference of native school teachers to-day. Addresses were delivered by Dr. E. P. Elkison, Director of Maori Hygiene, Dr Ada Paterson, Director of School Hygicne. and Dr. Mildred Staley, representing the Child Welfare Council. Dr. Paterson said the work of th-? Department was restricted to a certain extent by the size of the available medical staff, and it had not been found possible yet to make medical inspec tions of native .school children. Part of the regular routine policy had been to visit schools where advice on specie problems was sought, and an endeavour was made to supply teachers with literature on health matters. “It appears to me that any risk of extinction of the Maori rate is now a thing of the past,” said Dr. Ellison, referring to vital statistics quoted in th? course of a review of the work of his division. Dr. Ellison said he found ton? Maoris difficult to help, on account of their strong prejudices, fostered by half-educated natives, and in some cases by Europeans. Such prejudice had considerably hampered measures for the control of typhoid fever by the inoculation method, which had otherwise proved highly successful, but the ignorance was being largely overcome, and there had been a marked improvement in recent years in hygienic conditions at public native gatherings. There were exceptions, but the Maori! generally was not nearly so careless in theso matters as he formerly was.