Dr Sandra Hotu is a distinguished Māori health leader and dedicated advocate for Māori health equity. A respiratory physician for the Auckland District Health Board and senior lecturer with the Department of Medicine and Te Kupenga Hauora Maori at the University of Auckland. Sandra’s career is marked by an unwavering commitment to addressing health disparities faced by Māori whānau, hapū, and iwi.
In her clinical, teaching, and leadership roles within Te Whatu Ora and Waipapa Taumata Rau, Sandra strives to provide and promote equitable healthcare for patients and whanau.
Sandra earned her medical degree from the University of Auckland (MBChB) and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). She completed her PhD in 2021: He Rito Hou: A Person and Whānau Centred Model of Care for Māori with Chronic Airways Disease care - a groundbreaking approach with broader application for chronic disease management for Māori communities.
Her significant contributions to Māori health research include leadership roles in major studies such as lung cancer screening optimisation for Māori and innovative care models for chronic respiratory conditions. She received prestigious fellowships, including a Respiratory Fellowship from Auckland DHB, a Health Research Council Clinical Research Training Fellowship in partnership with the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ .
Sandra chaired the Māori Health Committee for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, playing a pivotal role in constitutional change to advance Indigenous health, and in national health reforms advocating for tino rangatiratanga and the establishment of an autonomous Māori Health Authority.
An influential voice in health policy, Dr Hotu champions a whānau ora and kaupapa Māori approach to healthcare, aiming for sustainable and equitable health outcomes for Māori. Her transformative work continues to inspire systemic change towards health equity and pae ora—wellbeing for all Māori.
Links:
Māori Health Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Letter on an iceberg, NZMJ 4 June 2021, Vol 134 No 1536
RACP welcomes health system reform 29 Paenga-whāwhā 2021 | 29 April 2021
Medical Council New Zealand Cultural Competence Partnership and Health Equity Symposium 2019: Dr Sandra Hotu Presentation (pages 60-74)
Asthma Foundation: Asthma and Respiratory Conference 2018: Day Two Session eleven: Māori models of Health - ARFNZ PhD Scholarship Dr Sandra Hotu
Health Research Council: A model of care for Māori and Pacific People with chronic airways disease (2016 Clinical Research Training Fellowship)
Research Gate Profile: Sandra Hotu
University of Auckland: School of Medicine Senior Lecturers| Dr Sandra Hotu Respiratory Research
14 May 2025
