Whakauae researcher, Dr Aria Graham (Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Pōrou, Samoan) has recently been awarded a prestigious Māori Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Fellowship was the only award made in this category by the HRC in the 2019 funding round. The award is not only important for Aria and for her career, but also for her whānau, her community, her iwi and of course for the field of Māori health research. Whakauae is privileged that Aria has sought us out to work alongside. As an organisation, we have benefited from having had the opportunity to support Aria's research to date. We look forward now to working with her to achieve her postdoctoral research goals including supporting her ongoing development as an emerging health researcher.
Aria's Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie Postdoctoral Fellowship research will be carried out over a three year term commencing early in 2020. Her research project, Māmā e Mamia - piloting a marae-based wellbeing model for pēpi and māmā Māori will explore the optimising of wellbeing for māmā and their pēpi/tamariki in settings that are congruent with their cultural identity. It will pilot and assess the effectiveness of a culturally grounded model of wellbeing (Māmā e Mamia) for Māmā Māori and their pēpi/tamariki. The model, which emerged from Aria's PhD research, will be piloted as a marae-based service.
Excited about carrying out this Māmā e Mamia implementation research, Aria is nevertheless realistic about the challenges that lie ahead of her. She is at once, “humbled and proud” to have this opportunity to further investigate a model of care built around listening to the voices of the real experts; the young mums themselves.
