Rachel Brown struggled for months as her 7-year-old son fought for his life in hospital.

Now, eight years later, she's used her agonising experience as the basis for her groundbreaking research that could revolutionise how children are treated in New Zealand.

Brown, who received her PhD in Health Science from Auckland University of Technology last Friday, found systemic racism and discrimination facing Māori and Pasifika children and their families in New Zealand's public hospitals.

CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF Dr Rachel Brown graduated with a PhD in Maori Health on August 3, after completing a thesis titled Surviving the System based on her then 7-year-old son Raen's battle with brain cancer.

According to her research Māori and Pasifika have the highest hospital admission rates, but hospital policies and environments are not designed for diversity.

READ MORE:

* Report highlights New Zealand's health system failing Maori

* Report reveals racism and rough handling of rheumatic fever patients

* Half a million Kiwis not receiving healthcare because of cost

* Geneva human rights committee 'shocked' at NZ's human rights report card

* Fact check: Disparities between Māori and Pākehā

The idea for Brown's research started back in 2010 when her son, Raen, then 7, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. They lived at Starship Children's Hospital for the next three months, beginning a years-long journey within the health system.

During that time, Brown would often see Māori and Pasifika whānau admitted to Starship in distress, having come from outside of Auckland, or overseas. Some barely spoke English and had little to no whānau support.

"I wondered, how are they coping, if I'm barely coping," Brown said.

Over three and a half-years she interviewed 20 whānau and 10 stakeholders – including the Child Cancer Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and Starship Hospital cultural support staff – and found coping became less about the child's health and more about surviving the system.

SUPPLIED Brown's PhD thesis Surviving the System examined the barriers and distractions Māori and Pasifika whānau face in the health system.

In interviewing families she found the system was rife with barriers and distractions, including lack of cultural awareness and lack of support and critical resources, taking away from being fully engaged with the care of the child.

Whānau noted "clear treatment differences" in the way different ethnic groups were treated, the language used, resources offered and assumptions made, Brown said.

A Pasifika father whose son had been admitted for over a year highlighted the differences he had felt and witnessed: "They look at us Island people, they think we don't know anything, and sometimes some racial issues come in. I do see how differently they treat us brownies from the whites."

SUPPLIED All 20 whānau surveyed stayed at Starship Children's Hospital and Ronald McDonald House in Auckland during their treatment.

"God, sometimes they treat us like we are dumb Islanders, I have a masters for God's sake," another said.

Hospital environments are "white and clinical" and Western thinking permeates, such as allowing only one parent to stay overnight and offering limited space at a child's bedside.

"Imagine the guilt and self-blame of not being there if the child died in the night and it's not your fault it was because the rule is you can't both be there," one parent told Brown.

SUPPLIED Ronald McDonald House chief executive Wayne Howett said their partnership with Brown gave them an "exciting" opportunity to re-evaluate their cultural support services.

Her thesis prompted a number of changes at Ronald McDonald House, where all participants stayed, including addressing representation on the board, introducing cultural awareness sessions for staff and utilising different rooms and private spaces for whānau, chief executive Wayne Howett said.

Brown approached Howett before she began study to ask to collaborate, something which he said helped RMH "address cultural issues we were a little bit at a loss on how to address".

Her findings offered "real insight and real opportunity" for Ronald McDonald House to better support its Māori and Pasifika families, Howett said.

Meanwhile, Auckland DHB general manager of Māori health Riki Nia Nia said "there is no question that our communities benefit when the care and services we provide are centred around whānau and patients, and they are empowered to engage fully in their care."

"We encourage and value feedback from patients and whānau as it is essential in order to continually improve how we are to serve our community," Nia Nia said in a statement.

Director of provider services Jo Gibbs said Auckland DHB has a strong commitment to eliminating inequities which for Māori and Pasifika communities.

"There is much to do in this area, and a great deal of work is underway. Whilst this is led by the expertise in our Māori and Pasifika Health teams, it is important that all of our leaders stand together in this work. The DHB's Māori Health Plan and Pasifika Health Plan are the guiding documents for this work, along with our partnerships with Ngāti Whātua and Pasifika leaders," she said.

The DHB plan to meet with Rachel to discuss her research and findings, and "look forward to learning from her work and better understanding her insights".