Work in Indigenous health recognised

Dr Matire Harwood (Ngāpuhi), Healthier Lives Principal Investigator and Science Leadership Team member, has been honoured for her work in indigenous health. She has been awarded a prestigious L’Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship in recognition of her research addressing the inequities of health-related outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous people.

Dr Harwood is a GP and a clinical researcher at the University of Auckland. She believes that New Zealand is a world leader in the collection of high quality ethnicity data and coupled with our knowledge, values, and understanding of what works for Māori health, that we can achieve significant outcomes.

She would particularly like to see progress in developing our Māori health workforce and see New Zealand build an evidence base around indigenous-led interventions.

Dr Harwood leads the Mana Tū research project, funded by the Long Term Conditions partnership between Healthier Lives, the Ministry of Health and the Health Research Council of NZ, which aims to improve health outcomes for Māori.

Mana Tū deploys skilled and supported Kaimanaaki-whānau in general practices, using a mana whānau approach to support people living with pre-diabetes or poorly controlled diabetes.  TVNZ’s Sunday Programme recently conducted an in-depth interview with Dr Harwood about her work, including footage of Richard, one of Mana Tū’s Kaimanaaki, running a group programme at Papakura Marae.

View an interview with Dr Harwood on the Sunday programme, including footage of the Mana Tū project in action:

• The Good Doctor Sunday, TVNZ, 5 November 2017 (11m5s)

View an interview with Dr Harwood on Māori Television:

• Māori health scientist awarded for work on indigenous health Māori Television, 24 October 2017 (2m26s)

Further information:

• Mana Tū research project

Featured image photo credit: Sharron Bennett