Te Aratiatia ki te Hauora

Te Aratiatia ki te Hauora aims to improve mental health outcomes for Māori, and for all people with lived experience of mental distress, through multiple streams of integrated research activity.

The initiative will provide evidence-based solutions to a range of contemporary mental health challenges and prioritise research that can directly inform the design of more innovative and Māori-inspired strategies, ending discrimination and prejudice for people with lived experience of mental distress while upholding mana and human rights.

Priority themes for this research include ending prejudice, anti-discrimination and cultural approaches to treatment and care. The work is also guided by seven pou or research principles, including pou kōrero (information dissemination) and pou mātauranga (knowledge extension).  

Te Aratiatia ki te Hauora focuses on asking forward-looking research questions, exploring translational research opportunities which can inform policies, strategies, and care options to improve Māori mental health outcomes. Te Aratiatia ki te Hauora has also developed a range of training opportunities, specifically for those with lived experience, as well as prioritising research activity to inform community perspectives of mental wellbeing. It is uniquely designed to address some of the immediate challenges caused by discrimination and its inevitable impact on accessing care.  

Across our lifetime, more than 50 percent of Māori are likely to suffer from a mental health issue, challenge, or disorder. Research such as Te Aratiatia ki te Hauora will play a crucial role in supporting our communities to find strategies that supplement their wellbeing.  

Our team

• Professor Te Kani Kingi
• Dr Cary Monreal-Clark
• Dr Erena Wikaire
• Karamea Tukukino

Current Activities

Several programmes of research are currently being supported by Te Aratiatia ki te Hauora. These are broad in scope but are all connected by the desire to create new knowledge, to support those with lived experience of mental illness, and to ensure that this information contributes to gains in mental health and wellbeing.

Four additional projects are currently underway:

A community-based collaboration with Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae (Mangere) examining urban Māori views of mental health and wellbeing, the role culture plays in sustaining mental health and what strategies are possible to help support and sustain hauora Māori.

Researchers from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and Massey University are working alongside advisors from the Mental Health Foundation and Hapai te Hauora to prepare insights into Tangata Whaiora views of mental health and wellbeing. This study will ensure that the unique perspectives of Whaiora are captured and that these views can be used to support the delivery of more effective mental health services and care opportunities.

Producing a resource on the ethical considerations required to undertake rangahau with Māori communities. It includes appropriate methods and approaches, challenges and unique considerations, the role of koha, and what the ongoing responsibilities to communities might be.

An edited book is in production. The book, entitled Tumanako, is framed around the stories and perspectives of those who have experienced mental ill-health. Each author will be broadly asked to provide context to their story, share challenges and insights, and ultimately describe strategies people can utilise to support their wellbeing. Tumanako is designed as a non-clinical resource and a means of better supporting those who are currently struggling with mental health concerns.

Several projects are still in the planning phase and include research into the relationship between culture and mental health, discrimination, rangatahi perspectives of health, wellbeing surveys, and pacific insights.

More information and updates will be provided as future research projects are finalised and as papers, reports, and resources are generated.

Useful links

https://www.nokuteao.org.nz/

https://www.nokuteao.org.nz/kete-matauranga/noku-te-ao-sovereignty-of-the-maori-mind/

https://www.nokuteao.org.nz/kete-matauranga/te-werohau/

Awanuiarangi leads Māori mental health research programme - Waatea News: Māori Radio Station