This project sought to identify and assess the damage done to Papatūānuku (Mother Earth) by chemical contamination from road construction in the Auckland metropolitan area, and to consider ways in which she may be healed. The research team built collaborations between Ngāti Whātua, Manaaki Whenua and key stakeholder organisations such as Transit New Zealand to help identify the major environmental issues for Ngāti Whātua regarding chemical contamination from roads and to reach a consensus on appropriate methods for measuring the state of the environment. 
 

This research project aims to characterise the possible effects of agricultural and industrial activity on the well-being of the Mataura River, using an approach that includes a monitoring framework developed by Ngāi Tahu alongside ecotoxicological methodologies. Ngāi Tahu concerns over the increasing degradation of the catchment have underpinned this research project. The project team is confident this research will complement local hapū efforts to build greater research capability on the state of the Mataura River and its resources in order to fulfil their responsibilities as kaitiaki.

Outputs

This scoping exercise investigated how He Rauheke as a contextual framework can be developed and applied to the field of early intervention to inform assessment, early identification, programmes of intervention, and evaluation processes. 
 

The Ahuriri or Napier Estuary is of significant value to both tangata whenua and the Hawke’s Bay community as a whole. Historical and current environmental pressures, together with some questionable management processes over the years, had caused an almost total cultural disconnection between the tangata whenua and the estuary.
 

This research explored Māori views and access to Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR). The researchers carried out a series of interviews with key stakeholders to identify key themes, and a number of hui were run to ascertain broader Māori views towards infertility, use of AHR, AHR policy and legislative change, and the interface between tikanga Māori and various ethical scenarios that have emerged in the field of AHR.

Outputs

A Kaupapa Māori epidemiology is sensitive to the demographic circumstances of the Māori population. Itreinforces the development of policy and practice that is responsive to Māori.  A Māori standard population (or indigenous standard) brings Māori from the margins to the centre of the epidemiological frame. 
 

This research project led by Dr Mere Kēpa undertook a series of interviews and focus groups to answer how Māori people can humanise the care of elderly Māori. The researchers identified significant shortcomings in healthcare services for elderly Māori outside urban areas and made recommendations to government agencies, service providers and whānau based on their findings.

This research project integrated two distinct but complementary pieces of research to amplify the voices of young Māori who entrusted their experiences, opinions, and ideas to the two research teams; and to speak back to those who might implement change for them. The two projects were the National Secondary School Youth Health Survey Youth2000, and Youth First, a major Marsden funded project headed by Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith. The aim was to create a multidisciplinary research alliance that could begin to talk across disciplinary boundaries to inform community issues.

This research project sought to answer a fundamental question: What do Māori men who have sex with men need in order to reduce their risk of HIV infection? The researchers in order to answer this focused on the significance of identity from both a cultural and sexual perspective. The research recognises that Māori men who have a strong sense of their identity may be at reduced risk of HIV infection and that this has a beneficial effect on one’s health status. Accordingly, the project investigated the aspects of identity and behaviour which contribute to reduced risk of HIV infection.

A concussion implies a temporary disturbance to brain function and can be serious. A medical consultation to judge the severity of the injury, and to specify a management plan are important. Failure to do so can lead to subsequent injury and may impact the individual’s schoolwork and social interactions.