Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
Browse
9 results
Search Results
Item Wāhi Kōrero: The Development of an Online Story-Sharing Research Platform for Health Research(SAGE Publications, 2025-05-30) Severinsen C; Breheny M; Reweti A; Ware FStorytelling has the power to forge connections and foster empathy, providing insights into shared human experiences. In the digital age, online platforms offer opportunities to amplify historically underrepresented voices. This article introduces Wāhi Kōrero, a bespoke online story-sharing platform designed to collect stories from people whose experiences are often absent from health research. Wāhi Kōrero was developed through a collaborative approach between Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers and web designers, prioritizing ethical considerations, cultural respect, and inclusivity. Wāhi Kōrero provides a safe and welcoming space for people to share their experiences, crafted in their own words, with minimal researcher involvement. Analyzing these stories can reveal the structural inequities that shape personal experiences with health professionals. The platform’s transformative impact extends to power dynamics, political discourse, and knowledge production. Wāhi Kōrero works toward a collectively determined health research agenda, elevating the voices of health service users and validating their expertise in their own lives and health. Ultimately, Wāhi Kōrero exemplifies the changing landscape of online information access, presentation, and control, paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive approach to health research and practice.Item Client Perspectives of Family Therapy: A Qualitative Systematic Review(Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2025-07) Todd E; Pond R; Coomber KThis qualitative systematic review aimed to synthesize and discuss family members' perspectives of helpful and unhelpful factors in family therapy (FT) sessions, to benefit the application of FT interventions and training. Eleven studies met eligibility criteria and were critically appraised and thematically synthesized. Four themes resulted: therapist qualities contributing to the therapeutic alliance, practitioners' use of therapeutic techniques, intervention delivery, and family engagement with the process. Helpful factors included therapist warmth, kindness, and genuine care; therapist connecting with family in a sensitive, respectful, and nonjudgmental manner; effective use of therapeutic techniques that facilitated self-reflection, emotional expression, communication, and perspective-taking; therapy sessions conducted collaboratively with active family participation; focusing on family strengths and resources; and tailoring format to family needs. Unhelpful factors included participants sharing before ready, therapist siding with a family member, therapy process not matching family needs, and insufficient progress early on. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.Item What are the barriers to adoption of a lifestyle associated with optimal peak bone mass acquisition? A qualitative study of young adults in New Zealand(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-02-08) Zafar S; Denison H; Patel H; Dennison E; Longo UGObjective: This study aimed to investigate the barriers to adopting lifestyle factors other than physical activity important for optimal peak bone mass (PBM) acquisition—namely, dietary factors, avoidance of cigarette smoking, and keeping alcohol consumption within recommended limits. Materials and Methods: University students and staff aged 18–35 years were recruited. Six semi-structured, in-depth focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 28 participants. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. A thematic approach for data analysis using a constant comparative method was performed using NVivo software. Results: Three major themes emerged: socio-cultural barriers (peer pressure and cultural norms); personal barriers (time, cost, and diet preferences); and other barriers (medical illness and lack of symptoms associated with low bone mass density). Conclusions: We identified several barriers to adoption of lifestyle behaviours that might be beneficial to PBM acquisition. These data might facilitate the development of public health interventions designed to help young adults embrace osteoprotective lifestyles, and hence reduce the burden of osteoporotic fracture in later life.Item Drawing wisdom from the Pacific: A Tongan participative approach to exploring and addressing family violence(Taylor and Francis Group, 2023-08-15) Havea S; Alefaio-Tugia S; Hodgetts DThe development of qualitative research approaches that are embedded within a Tongan worldview and associated relational practices is pivotal to enhancing knowledge of, and culturally-informed responses to violence within the Tongan kainga (family). We are currently in the early stages of such developments. This reflexive methodological article draws conceptual insights and cultural concepts from the exemplar of a Tongan faith-based family violence prevention programme, which was developed by Tongan community practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand. We document the adaptation of Tauhi va (nurturing loving and harmonious relationships), Nofo (indigenous cultural immersion), and Talanoa (Pacific indigenous ways of dialogue and discussion) in the design and documenting of this culturally-embedded response to such violence. Elsewhere, we have documented the violence programme in question and its implications for participating families, and the broader faith-based community and leaders. In this article we present a Tongan methodology that we hope is used for other scholar activists also engaged in participative action-oriented research within Tongan and other Indigenous communities more broadly.Item Person centered care in neurorehabilitation: A secondary analysis(Taylor and Francis Group, 2019-01-29) Terry G; Kayes NPerson centered care has been described as being in its ascendency, despite some of the complexities of embedding it within healthcare systems. The emphasis of research now seems to be moving toward the promotion of cultures of care that support the efforts of practitioners. Informed by some of the principles of positive deviancy, where some of the solutions for change can be found within existing cultures and practices, this paper aimed to identify examples of person-centered care in existing practice. Reporting on a thematic analysis of qualitative datasets from three preexisting projects, we constructed four themes from these data: (1) That patient experience and needs should always be understood in terms of their difficult new reality; (2) the need for a relational orientation in care; (3) the importance of treating trust as a currency; and, (4) efficacy in rehabilitation is co-constructed, and enabled by the efforts of clinicians. Identifying positive examples of care, enacted irrespective of the framework of care they are found within, may provide opportunities to critically reflect on practice. The context for care and the extent to which that context constrains or makes possible person-centered care in practice will also be discussed. MPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Cultures of care are central to enhancing person-centered practice. Care begins with recognition of patient’s difficult new reality. Building trust helps enable capacity for improvementItem Knowledge of Osteoporosis and Lifestyle Behaviours Impacting Peak Bone Mass among Young Adults(LIDSEN Publishing Inc., 2021-01-11) Patel H; Denison H; Zafar S; Teesdale-Spittle P; Dennison E; Marks ROsteoporosis is a major public health problem through its association with fragility fracture. Low peak bone mass (PBM) is a major contributor to later osteoporosis risk. Despite this, most studies concentrate on older people when the window of opportunity to impact PBM has passed. This study aimed to understand what adolescents and young adults understand about PBM, the risk of osteoporotic fracture and how lifestyle factors impact PBM. Such information may inform educational interventions to reduce future risk of fracture, and provide important public health benefits. New Zealand university students were approached to participate in this study. Nine focus groups of a total of 44 adolescents and young adults, mean age 22.9 (± 4.02) years of different ethnicities (29 female 15 male), were conducted using a semi-structured approach with open-ended questions and prompts. Transcripts were thematically coded using an inductive content analysis approach. Participants reported poor knowledge of PBM and factors impacting risk of osteoporotic fracture. There was a general awareness of the positive and negative impacts of many lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity, diet, tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption on health in general, but not specifically how these impact PBM and good bone health in later life. We conclude that in a cohort of New Zealand University students, current knowledge of osteoporosis and lifestyle factors that impact PBM is limited. Educational interventions in young adults are now warranted to improve PBM and prevent osteoporosis in late adulthood.Item Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy: Personal utility of a genetic diagnosis for families(Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy, 2021-03) Jeffrey JS; Leathem J; King C; Mefford HC; Ross K; Sadleir LGObjectives Identifying genetic pathogenic variants improves clinical outcomes for children with developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) by directing therapy and enabling accurate reproductive and prognostic information for families. We aimed to explore the additional personal utility of receiving a genetic diagnosis for families. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen families of children with a DEE who had received a genetic diagnosis. The interviews stimulated discussion focusing on the impact of receiving a genetic diagnosis for the family. Interview transcripts were analyzed using the six-step systematic process of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results Three key themes were identified: “Importance of the label,” “Relief to end the diagnostic journey,” and “Factors that influence personal utility.” Families reported that receiving a genetic label improved their knowledge about the likely trajectory of the DEE, increased their hope for the future, and helped them communicate with others. The relief of finally having an answer for the cause of their child's DEE alleviated parental guilt and self-blame as well as helped families to process their grief and move forward. Delay in receipt of a genetic diagnosis diluted its psychological impact. Significance To date, the factors associated with the personal utility of a genetic diagnosis for DEEs have been under appreciated. This study demonstrates that identifying a genetic diagnosis for a child's DEE can be a psychological turning point for families. A genetic result has the potential to set these families on an adaptive path toward better quality of life through increased understanding, social connection, and support. Early access to genetic testing is important as it not only increases clinical utility, but also increases personal utility with early mitigation of family stress, trauma, and negative experiences.Item How do youth, parents, and educators use discursive sexual scripts to make sense of youth engagement with internet pornography?(Taylor and Francis Group, 2022-12) Healy-Cullen S; Morison T; Ross K; Taylor JEIn this article, we explore how culturally available sexual scripts are drawn on to make meaning of young people’s engagement with internet pornography (IP). We draw on a version of sexual scripting theory developed by feminist discursive scholars to perform a critical thematic analysis of 24 interviews with parents, educators, and young people. We identify three main scripts commonly drawn on by participants to make sense of youth engagement with IP, namely: a script of harm, a heterosexual script, and a developmentalist script. These scripts, often interweaving with one another, were deployed in various ways, firstly, as ‘risk talk’ and, secondly, as ‘resistant talk’. While both adults and youth engaged with dominant (‘risk’) and alternative (‘resistant’) talk, adults primarily positioned youth within ‘risk talk’. We show how alternative ‘resistant talk’ disrupts common, scripted ways of accounting for youth engagement with IP in a way that demonstrates more nuanced sexual subjectivities – particularly among youth – than the traditional media effects paradigm acknowledges. Importantly, our findings show how, within discursive restraints, essentialized gender constructions can be resisted to position youth as agentic sexual subjects.Item Ableism, Human Rights, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Healthcare-Related Barriers Experienced by Deaf People in Aotearoa New Zealand(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-12-18) Roguski M; Officer TN; Nazari Orakani S; Good G; Händler-Schuster D; McBride-Henry K; Moreira PS; Morgado P; Almeida PRThe COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected global healthcare access and exacerbated pre-pandemic structural barriers. Literature on disabled people's experiences accessing healthcare is limited, with even less framing healthcare access as a human rights issue. This study documents and critically analyses Deaf people's healthcare access experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven self-identified Deaf individuals participated in semi-structured videoconferencing interviews. Discourse analysis was applied to participant narratives with discourses juxtaposed against a human rights analysis. Barriers influencing healthcare access included: (1) the inability of healthcare providers to communicate appropriately, including a rigid adherence to face mask use; (2) cultural insensitivity and limited awareness of Deaf people's unique needs; and (3) the impact of ableist assumptions and healthcare delaying care. Barriers to healthcare access represent consecutive breaches of rights guaranteed under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Such breaches delay appropriate healthcare access and risk creating future compounding effects. Action is required to address identified breaches: (1) The CRPD should also underpin all health policy and practice development, inclusive of pandemic and disaster management responsiveness. (2) Health professionals and support staff should be trained, and demonstrate competency, in Deaf cultural awareness and sensitivity.