Dr Heather Gifford

I am a Māori health researcher with tribal affiliations to Ngāti Hauiti and Te Ātihaunui a Pāpārangi.  

I began my professional career as a nurse working in the field of child and family health. During the early period of my career I also taught at a tertiary level in health services, worked as a manager with a Māori Development Organisation (funder of health and social services) and in iwi based primary health care.

In 1996, I returned to tertiary study completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health at Otago University. Encouraged by a passion for research I then completed a Masters in Public Health (Otago University) and both a PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowship with Te Pūmanawa Hauora, the Research Centre for Māori Health and Development, Massey University.

In 2005, in collaboration with Ngāti Hauiti, I established Whakauae Research for Māori Health and Development, an iwi based research centre. In 2016, after ten years as Director, I stepped down to take up a role within Whakauae as Strategic Advisor Business and Research.  It is a pleasure to be able to support and advise another Whanganui based emerging research centre (HARC) focused on equity and improved Māori health outcomes.

My research interests to date have concentrated on health service delivery and intervention, and the development of whānau, hapū and iwi based models to address Māori health issues, in particular tobacco control research with a focus on prevention and policy work.