Background: In recent decades, financial investment has been made in health-related programs and services to overcome inequities and improve Indigenous people's wellbeing in Australia and New Zealand. Despite policies aiming to 'close the gap', limited evaluation evidence has informed evidence-based policy and practice. Indigenous leaders have called for evaluation stakeholders to align their practices with Indigenous approaches. Methods: This study aimed to strengthen culturally safe evaluation practice in Indigenous settings by engaging evaluation stakeholders, in both countries, in a participatory concept mapping study. Concept maps for each country were generated from multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis.
ObjectiveHigh smoking prevalence rates, combined with a steep tax on tobacco and lower household income, mean that 5% of Māori (indigenous) whānau (family unit) expenditure in New Zealand is on tobacco. This paper outlines whānau perceptions of, and behavioural responses to, increasing tobacco tax.MethodsThis qualitative study was informed by the Kaupapa Māori theory and used a simplified interpretive phenomenological analysis thematic hybrid methodology. A semistructured, open-ended interview guide was designed and used in one-off focus group interviews.Setting and participantsInterviews were separately conducted with each of 15 whānau units. A total of 72 participants, most of whom were smokers, took part in the interviews carried out in two geographical regions: one rural/provincial and one urban.ResultsWhānau were concerned about the rising cost of tobacco. However, this concern had not generally translated into quit attempts. Whānau had instead developed innovative tobacco-related practices. Working collectively within their whānau, they were able to continue to smoke, although in a modified fashion, despite the rising costs of tobacco. Whānau thereby resisted the intended outcome of the government’s tobacco tax which is to reduce rates of smoking prevalence.ConclusionIn the face of significant government disinvestment in New Zealand tobacco control over the last 10 years, hypothecated taxes should be used to scale up Māori-specific cessation and uptake prevention programmes, supporting authentic Māori partnerships for endgame solutions including restricting the availability and appeal of tobacco.
This paper presents the findings of the Perceptions of Papakāinga project, which explores the connection between place, genealogy, and identity for two Māori (New Zealand’s Indigenous people) communities: one living within an iwi (tribal) context, and one living within an urban context. The research explores how Māori-specific concepts which define home and identity are perceived and enacted across all participants, and how participants define ‘home’ in relation to fluid understandings of genealogy, community, and identity. Across the diverse experiences of participants, the concept of ‘whakapapa’ (genealogy), can be seen to act as a way to understand the connections between identity, people and place.
Mount Ruapehu, locally known as Matua Te Mana, is the metaphorical ancestor of Māori living around the rural community of Raetihi. Matua Te Mana has a significant presence and is pivotal to the health and wellbeing of local iwi. Whānau are leading Te Puāwai o Te Ahi Kaa innovation project, based at Te Puke Marae, in partnership with Te Oranganui. The latter is the Whanganui regional Māori health and social services provider. This Ministry of Health-funded, 3-year, Whānau Ora-focused and innovative model of care seeks to enhance the wellbeing of whānau who maintain Te Puke Marae's ahi kā. Whakauae Research for Māori Health and Development is evaluating the project alongside the project partners.
In Rongoā Māori (traditional Māori healing), the connection with the land stems from seeing Papatūānuku/Mother Earth as a part of our identity/whakapapa (genealogy), our culture, and our wellbeing. This qualitative study aimed to explore the holistic nature and meaning of Rongoā Māori. There were 49 practitioner and patient participants who participated in semi-structured interviews and focus groups across Aotearoa/New Zealand. The findings showed four themes: land as an intrinsic part of identity; land as a site and source of healing; reciprocity of the healing relationship; and the importance of kaitiakitanga/conservation to Rongoā Māori. Participants shared narratives of connections between the people and the land that showed that when the land is well, the people are well. Implications of these themes for Indigenous wellbeing and the conservation and protection of our natural environments led to three recommendations to reconnect with the land, support Rongoā Māori healing, and to participate in the conservation and preservation of local land and waterways. It is hoped that in learning more about the connection between the land and Rongoā Māori healing, we begin to place greater value on the need to conserve and preserve both the land and our connections to her through traditional healing practices.
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