Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Understanding how whānau-centred initiatives can improve Māori health in Aotearoa New Zealand.(Oxford University Press, 2023-07-13) Reweti AThis article highlights the significance of prioritizing Indigenous voices and knowledge systems, using whānau-centred initiatives (a concept that encompasses the broader family and community) as a foundation for health promotion within an Indigenous context. Tū Kahikatea, a conceptual framework, is used to demonstrate the relationship between the values underpinning different whānau-centred initiatives and their corresponding outcomes. The framework highlights the capacity of whānau-centred initiatives to support whānau in attaining mana motuhake, which represents collective self-determination and the ability to exercise control over their own future. By doing so, these initiatives contribute to the improvement of whānau health outcomes. With recent changes to Aotearoa New Zealand's health system, the findings underscore the benefits and potential of whānau-centred initiatives in enhancing whānau health outcomes, and advocate for continued strengths-based practices in Aotearoa New Zealand's health system. By bridging the gap between academia and grassroots community action, the article demonstrates the potential of whānau-centred initiatives and contributes to a global call for integrating Indigenous viewpoints and practices into Westernized healthcare, in order to improve Indigenous health outcomes.Item Waka ama: An exemplar of indigenous health promotion in Aotearoa New Zealand(John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of the Australian Health Promotion Association, 2022-10) Reweti A; Severinsen C; Smith JISSUE ADDRESSED: The use of old-style, top-down health education and awareness programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand, which adopt a single issue-based approach to health promotion, primarily ignores a broad approach to social determinants of health, as well as indigenous Māori understandings of wellbeing. METHODS: This paper draws on the indigenous framework Te Pae Māhutonga as a guide for presenting narratives collated from members of a waka ama rōpū (group) who were interviewed about the social, cultural and health benefits of waka ama. RESULTS: This waka ama case study is an exemplar of community-led health promotion within an indigenous context, where Māori values and practices, such as whanaungatanga (the process of forming and maintaining relationships), manaakitanga (generosity and caring for others) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship), are foundational. The findings highlight the multiple benefits of engagement in waka ama and illustrate effective techniques for enhancing wellbeing within local communities. CONCLUSION: At a time when Aotearoa New Zealand is seeing a decreasing trend in physical activity levels and an increase in mental health challenges, waka ama provides us with an exemplar of ways to increase health and wellbeing within our communities. SO WHAT?: The findings of this research contribute to the evidence base of effective indigenous health promotion, bridging the gap between academia and local community action. To better recognise, comprehend and improve indigenous health and wellbeing, we argue that active participation of people in the community is required to achieve long-term and revolutionary change.