Whakauae was recently privileged to host a research symposium in Whanganui showcasing the work of several of our Kaupapa Māori research colleagues. The symposium, Taupua Mana, Taupua Waiora: Lifting health by enhancing mana, held on 21 November 2019, featured a series of four presentations. Following the whakatau and whakawhanaungatanga, three members of AUT's Taupua Waiora team each discussed aspects of their recent research work.
Professor Denise Wilson (Ngāti Tahinga) outlined the early findings of her Marsden Fund-supported research project, Indigenous women keeping safe in unsafe relationships. The research shifts the narratives about wāhine from the typical view of weakness and victim, towards an acknowledgement of their mana and strength, and highlights the important role of tāne in building resilient whānau.
Māori health equity and mana motuhake, especially in relation to mate pukupuku Māori (cancer), are the focus of Associate Professor Jacquie Kidd's (Ngā Puhi) current research. In her presentation, Te Pā Ora: it's ok on the inside! she explored the whānau ora and health literacy perspectives of Māori with cancer and chronic illness as well as the issue of health literacy, particularly cultural health literacy, for services involving Māori.
Dr Isaac Warbrick's (Ngāti Te Ata, Te Arawa, Ngā Puhi) research interests include Māori men's health, traditional health models, and cultural reconnection as motivators for lifestyle change. His presentation, Te Taiao me te tinana – Reconnecting health to the environment included an outline of the development of outcome measures based on Māori knowledge, the link between Indigenous health and our environment, and the use of innovative applications of traditional knowledge, such as te maramataka.
The symposium concluded with a presentation from Emma Rawson (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Raukawa) a recipient of the Pae Tawhiti Postgraduate Scholarship awarded by Whakauae in 2016. Emma is currently completing a master's degree through AUT. She discussed the results of her research which examined barriers and enablers of success for Māori working in mainstream public health units.
The opportunity to hear about cutting edge Kaupapa Māori research, from the researchers themselves, was greatly appreciated by the Whanganui symposium participants. Whakauae received very positive feedback from participants including that their expectations of the day were in almost all instances exceeded. Most believed that research events of this type and calibre are a particularly useful way of sharing research findings. Several participants commented that they would have liked a higher level of symposium attendance from amongst their colleagues as the research presented is so highly relevant to the work that they are engaged in.
