The place of health in the health of place: the case of the Hokianga special medical area

Abstract

Contemporary models of health have broadened the concept so that health includes, but is not exclusively, biomedical wellness. One concern arising from this widened perspective is the degree to which health service provision promotes healthier, more convivial communities. This paper examines the contribution of health services to the experience of place in the Hokianga, an isolated and predominantly Maori area of New Zealand. While other public services are being increasingly privatised, charged to users and restructured to central nodes of provision, health care in the Hokianga remains free and delivered within a network of community clinics. It is argued that the taking of health care into communities both enhances the wellness of the population and positively enhances the experience of place for local residents.