Our research
We're a multi-disciplinary research group specialising in hauora Māori. Learn about some of our current and completed projects.
Current projects
Te Maramataka – restoring hauora by reconnecting with te taiao
An HRC funded project that explores the connection between the taiao (natural environment), kōrero tuku iho (traditional narratives and lessons), and hauora (holistic well-being). This project also explores the use of maramataka and other kōrero tuku iho to inspire a connection and increased engagement with the taiao, and the impacts of such engagements and connection on all aspects of health and well-being.
Pau te Hau – Implementing high intensity interval training for young adolescents in school
An HRC funded project exploring the use of Māori stories and kōrero tuku iho in school-based physical activity initiatives.
Reconnecting for Māori in a post COVID-19 world
This HRC funded project involves a scoping study to investigate how Māori stay connected during and after COVID-19. A small Māori rural community on the East Coast of the North Island provide a case study on approach to consider protective factors such as whakawhanaungatanga and tuhonohono. The findings of the project will provide an opportunity for other Māori communities that faced geographical and connectivity isolation during the pandemic.
Completed projects
The project 'Māori access to diabetes-related podiatry services' is a collaboration with the AUT School of Podiatry and two Māori health providers – WaiHealth and Te Puna Hauora. The overall aim of this research is to improve diabetes-related foot problem control among Māori through piloting an intervention that is appropriate and acceptable to Māori in two Māori community sites.
Summary of the research findings
Funded by: Health Research Council
The research project 'Organisational prerequisites to fund, implement and sustain a Māori health promotion model in a primary care setting'. The research involves implementing a Māori health promotion model – 'Kia Uruuru Mai a Hauora' at Waiora PHO in West Auckland. The research involves investigating the organisational conditions necessary to fund, implement and sustain a Māori health promotion model in primary health care settings. The lessons learned in the implementation of the model are likely to have wider application to the implementation of other Māori practice models in Māori and mainstream contexts across sectors.
Funded by: Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga
This project explored issues of participation and retention in the Māori health and disability workforce. The project was an AUT-led collaborative project with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (Centre of Research Excellence, University of Auckland) and Rata Teitei Associates. The project aimed to inform Māori health workforce development policy and interventions to strengthen the capacity of the workforce.
Funded by: Health Research CouncilReview of the Ministry of Health Hauora Māori Scholarship Programme
A review of the Ministry of Health's Hauora Māori Scholarship Programme and was carried out in collaboration with Māori health workforce development organisation Hauora.com. The research found that the Programme had been successful in contributing to strengthening the Māori health and disability workforce, complementing other Māori health workforce development initiatives.
The Hauora Māori Scholarship Programme, established in the early 1990s, provides financial assistance for students undertaking a tertiary health-related programme who are committed to Māori health and have whakapapa and/or cultural links with Māori. The report's aim was to review the Programme in terms of its contribution to Māori health and disability workforce development.
Nearly 600 scholarship recipients took part in the research. The researchers made several key findings which include: the Programme reduces the barrier of affordability; it has contributed to improved student outcomes with regard to entry into and retention in tertiary health-related study programmes; there is a high qualification completion rate among surveyed recipients.
Of the 390 survey respondents that were not employed in the health sector at the time of receiving the scholarship, one third are now employed in health. Of those respondents who had completed their qualification, more than three quarters are working in the health sector. The Programme has provided assistance to those who were already in the health workforce to the extent that 189 survey respondents have increased their capabilities through upskilling, as just over half of this group had completed the qualification that they were enrolled in at the time of completing the survey. The data presented in this report clearly indicates that the Programme has made a substantial contribution to the Māori health workforce.
Funded by: Ministry of Health
The project 'Māori Access to Cancer Services' was completed in early 2005. The project was in collaboration with Te Roopu Rangahau Hauora o Eru Pōmare and the Public Health Consultancy of the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences. This project included mapping of available baseline cancer data and data quality for Māori and a stock-take of the range of interventions to facilitate Māori access to cancer services. The Project Report made 35 recommendations to address barriers to cancer service access for Māori; 21 of those recommendations were incorporated into the New Zealand Cancer Control Strategy Action Plan 2005-2010.
Funded by: Ministry of Health