Dr Te Wai Barbarich-Unasa

E mihi ana ki a koutou, he uri whakaheke o Waikato, Ngāti Paoa rātou kō Ngāti Maniapoto


 

At the core of my work is a deep commitment to improving health and social outcomes for whānau Māori. This isn’t just a professional focus—it’s a personal drive grounded in kaupapa, whakapapa, and the belief that rangatahi deserve to be seen, heard, and empowered. I am a lecturer in Māori Health at AUT, where I teach a Māori health papers centred on strengths-based approaches to uplift Maaori wellbeing and research practices.

My passion lies in Kaupapa Māori research that amplifies rangatahi voices and challenges systems to do better. My research explores the experiences of Māori and Indigenous young people, particularly their engagement with health services and the responsiveness of those services to their cultural realities. I began my journey as a youth worker and have long supported whānau and tamariki Māori through community paediatrics, while also championing pathways for rangatahi into health careers.

My Master of Philosophy examined how rangatahi understand informed consent as research participants. My PhD research involved working alongside rangatahi to explore their lived experiences in the NZ health system. This research contributes to Māori health advancement by identifying structural enablers and barriers to culturally safe and equitable healthcare for young Māori. A distinctive outcome of this work was the co-development of Areare Taringa Mai! Let me be heard!—a set of evidence-informed guidelines for health professionals engaging with rangatahi Māori across Aotearoa. These guidelines offer actionable, practitioner-focused strategies that are grounded in the lived realities of rangatahi, and they have ongoing relevance for workforce development, service design, and policy. This resource is available online and shared nationwide via network and presentations https://www.xn--tmata-oranga-7mb.co.nz/projects/areare-taringa-mai

Through this work, I aim to bridge critical inquiry with practical application—advancing both scholarly understanding and sector responsiveness to the aspirations of rangatahi Māori.

Looking ahead, my research will continue to be grounded in Kaupapa Māori principles and led by the aspirations of rangatahi themselves—centred on equity, autonomy, and tino rangatiratanga in health. I am committed to research that not only uplifts rangatahi voices but also actively challenges and transforms the systems that shape their lives, ensuring those systems are accountable to the communities they serve.