Supporting Healthy Lifestyles: a Maori and Pasifika mHealth approach
April 2016 – June 2019
This project is developing and evaluating a culturally tailored, personalised mobile-phone delivered (mHealth) healthy lifestyle support programme for Māori and Pasifika in New Zealand.
The programme consists of a smartphone app and website co-designed by Toi Tangata, the Fono Health & Social Services, South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services and staff at three New Zealand universities. The tool allows users to set goals and invite whānau and friends to join users on their journey to achieve positive lifestyle changes. It includes healthy eating and physical activity tools to support behaviour change and provides regular motivational messages and tips.
The programme is being evaluated in a Cluster Randomised Trial. 24 Maori community clusters and 24 Pasifika community clusters will be randomly assigned to either receive the mHealth tool (intervention condition) or a simplified version of the tool which only collects data (control condition). Participants in the intervention clusters will use the tool for 12 weeks and participants in control clusters will be able to use the tool after the 12-week intervention period. The primary outcome will be a self-reported composite health behaviour score at 12 weeks, including smoking, fruit and vegetable intake, alcohol intake, and physical activity. If effective, the tool has the potential to be scaled up and rolled out nationally via primary care providers and communities.
Read more about the project in this Research Findings Brief. [PDF 663KB]
Find out more about the programme:
- OL@-OR@ website (www.olaora.auckland.ac.nz)
- Email olaora@auckland.ac.nz
- A journey towards health, in the palm of your hand
- OL@-OR@: results, awards and next steps
OL@-OR@, a Māori and Pasifika mHealth approach to supporting healthy lifestyles
From left: Leonie Matoe (Toi Tangata), Helen Eyles, Tevita Funaki (Fono), Ridvan Firestone , Andrew Jull, Cliona Ni Mhurchu and Lisa Te Morenga.
Science leader and principal investigator:
Co-principal investigators:
- Dr Ridvan Firestone, Massey University, Wellington
- Dr Lisa Te Morenga, Victoria University of Wellington
Associate investigators:
- Professor Andrew Jull, University of Auckland
- Associate Professor Robyn Whittaker, University of Auckland
Community partners:
Publications
Puka rangahau
- Co-design of MHealth Delivered Interventions: A Systematic Review to Assess Key Methods and Processes Current Nutrition Report (2016) 5:160-167
- Co-designing an mHealth tool in the New Zealand Māori community with a “Kaupapa Māori” approach AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples (2018)
- A Co-Designed, Culturally-Tailored mHealth Tool to Support Healthy Lifestyles in Māori and Pasifika Communities in New Zealand: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR Research Protocols (2018) 7(8):e10789
- Using codesign to develop a culturally tailored, behavior change mHealth intervention for indigenous and other priority communities: A case study in New Zealand Translational Behavioral Medicine (2018), iby093
- Identifying and overcoming barriers to healthier lives Pacific Health Dialog (2018) Available to download on the Welltext website
- A co-designed mHealth programme to support healthy lifestyles in Māori and Pasifika peoples in New Zealand (OL@-OR@): a cluster-randomised controlled trial The Lancet Digital Health (2019)
Conferences and symposia
- Tackling diet-related disease in New Zealand September 2018
- The Diabesity Crisis April 2017
- The ‘cost’ of sugar March 2017
- Healthier Lives Kōrero Tahi October 2016
Related news
- OL@-OR@: results, awards and next steps, October 2019
- OL@-OR@ finalist in Best Design Awards 2019 Public Good Award category Best Awards, August 2019
- Researchers call on Government to take lead in tackling diet-related disease September 2018
- Akarere Henry, a stakeholder perspective, YouTube (5m9s), July 2018
- New app to assist Māori, Pasifika with health Māori Television, April 2018
- Māori and Pacific health app trialled eHealthNews, April 2018
- New adventures and journeys on the digital health highway NZ Doctor, January 2018
- Developing a mobile health tool by co-design July 2017
- Sugar, sugar everywhere? April 2017
- Towards whānau, hapū and iwi wellbeing: Te Ritorito 2017 March 2017
- Gene variant increases obesity risk August 2016
- Bread to feed young minds July 2016
- Healthier Lives researchers prominent in HRC funding round June 2016
- Māori researchers share strengths April 2016
