<h3>Learnings from Participatory Research with M&#257;ori<br />
(Whakauae Research).</h3>

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<h4>1 Background</h4>

<p>PCC is a 42 month (2014-2018) research project funded by the Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand. &nbsp;The project is taking a M&#257;ori-centred approach to carrying out comparative case studies in partnership with three M&#257;ori health providers. &nbsp;The providers are Te Oranganui Iwi Health Authority in Whanganui, Tui Ora in Taranaki and Poutini Waiora on the West Coast.</p>

<p>Chronic conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes are a major health issues for M&#257;ori. The research is looking at how some M&#257;ori health providers are working to prevent these conditions occurring in the first place. Much of that work involves joining forces with other agencies across the community to tackle issues such as sub-standard housing and limited access to appropriate support services. Phase One of the research was carried out during 2015 and involved working to identify specific examples of chronic condition prevention work being carried out by the providers and then framing these as the prevention case studies.</p>

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<h4>2 The Research Team</h4>

<p>The research team is led by Whakauae Research Director Dr Heather Gifford and Senior Researcher, Dr Amohia Boulton along with Dr Leslie Batten (Massey University). Dr Melissa Cragg and Lynley Cvitanovic provide additional academic support. Other members of the team include community researchers Gill Potaka-Osborne, Kiri Parata and Rachel Brown who are each leading one of the health provider case studies.</p>

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<h4>3 Key Themes</h4>

<p>The purpose of Phase One of the research was to help identify the specific examples of chronic condition prevention work that would be included as case studies. Data collected from all three provider sites was coded and thematically analysed with three main themes being identified. These themes were:</p>

<p>Organisations know their communities and are taking opportunities to meet local community need however this responsiveness comes with challenges;&nbsp;<br />
Achieving long-term wellbeing through health service delivery is complex especially if you want a programme to be sustainable; and,<br />
The broader national policy environment is not always conducive to local level implementation. .</p>

<p>There are a number of sub-themes which describe the similarities and differences across the provider sites and detail the issues raised under each of the above three themes. &nbsp;As a result of the data analysis, a case study for each of the three provider sites has now been identified and discussed with each provider.</p>

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<h4>4 Going Forward</h4>

<p>Phase Two data collection will commence in February 2016 and will further explore how the case study examples of chronic condition prevention are being implemented and impact is being measured by each provider. &nbsp;An outcomes framework will be defined for each case and data collection in this phase will include key informant interviews, observation in the field and document review.</p>

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<h4>5 Thank you</h4>

<p>Whakauae Research for M&#257;ori Health and Development would like to thank all those participants who have contributed to the research project in the first phase of data collection carried out in 2015. This includes policy makers, health provider governance board members, health provider management and staff at each of the three sites.</p>

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