Doctoral Thesis

Awardee: Waimarie Onekawa (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine), Auckland University of Technology

In Aotearoa, Lead Maternity Care (LMC) Midwives provide most healthcare services for pregnant people. LMCs provide on-call services 24/7 and face long, unpredictable workdays. They often sacrifice time with their whānau to maintain their work lives. All midwives face challenges, but Māori face many additional obstacles. This research seeks to interview 10-15 Māori LMCs (current or former) to understand their motivations for working as LMCs and what keeps them in these roles.

Awardee: Morgana Vicki Watson (Taranaki, Te Atiawa, Te Atihaunui-a-Papaarangi, Ngāpuhi), University of Canterbury

This research explores how Māori Futurism can be realised through interactive media, merging traditional Māori knowledge with futuristic storytelling and technology. The project investigates the transformative potential of Māori media, where Te Reo me ngā Tikanga are integrated into the development process of, as well as within immersive, interactive worlds. It aims to create culturally authentic experiences that empower Māori and Indigenous communities by offering edutaining ways to engage with their/our culture, language, and identity.

Awardee: Deacon Fisher (Ngāpuhi (Te Parawhau, Te Uriroroi, Te Māhurehure ki Whatitiri)), Massey University

In recent years, pūrākau have been an area of research interest. This has primarily resulted in the emergence of pūrākau as a mode of therapeutic intervention. Despite this, pūrākau and their application within the social work profession are yet to be explored. In addition, whilst tikanga Māori across social services has been previously explored, tikanga ā-iwi and kawa ā-iwi have often been of secondary focus, aside from the respective research conducted by Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata, Hayley Bell, and Tania Rickard.

In recent years, pūrākau have been an area of research interest. This has primarily resulted in the emergence of pūrākau as a mode of therapeutic intervention. Despite this, pūrākau and their application within the social work profession are yet to be explored. In addition, whilst tikanga Māori across social services has been previously explored, tikanga ā-iwi and kawa ā-iwi have often been of secondary focus, aside from the respective research conducted by Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata, Hayley Bell, and Tania Rickard.

Awardee: Cynthia Otene (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa), Auckland University of Technology

Māori have higher rates of diabetes Amputations than non-Māori. The Rangahau will utilise Kaupapa Māori methodology to explore experiences of Māori, who have had a lower limb amputation due to diabetes.

The Rangahau uses wānanga to kōrero to participants about the experiences of Podiatry foot screening provided by podiatrists before they received an amputation. The study will allow whānau who have received an amputation a chance to share their story around their experiences of the Podiatry screening they received before they had an amputation.

Awardee: Uenukuterangihoka Jefferies (Ngāti Raukawa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Awa, Te Whakatōhea), University of Auckland

This kaupapa Māori-informed study explores how fidgeting—small, repetitive movements often seen in people with wairangi ā-aronga (ADHD)—might be linked to patterns of brain activity and thinking. The research focuses on rangatahi and pakeke (16 years and older) in Tairāwhiti, with 40 participants: 20 with lived experience of wairangi ā-aronga and 20 neurotypical individuals, matched by age and gender.

Awardee: Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor (Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor), The University of Auckland

This research explores how Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (NWŌ) whānau understand, experience, and sustain collective oranga and mental wellbeing, with the overarching aim of developing a culturally grounded iwi-led mental health strategy. The project emerged from the NWŌ Mental Health Forum, established in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns in response to rising isolation and mental distress. In 2022, following the tragic loss of a rangatahi to mate whakamomori (suicide), the forum was revitalised, prompting a renewed focus on oranga and mental wellbeing, and the development of an iwi-specific strategic response.