PhD Researcher: Ebony Komene (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Tapuika) (UoA)
Primary supervisors: Dr Sue Adams (UoA)
Project summary:
Ebony’s PhD research will explore the contribution of Māori nurse practitioners and opportunities to transform Primary Healthcare services within Aotearoa. Current health system changes call for solutions to persisting Māori health inequities, a known breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. International rangahau shows an Indigenous workforce is key to enhancing Indigenous health outcomes. Therefore, meaningful transformation necessitates collaboration with Māori practitioners and communities to Indigenise Primary Healthcare (PHC). Māori Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are uniquely positioned to offer impactful PHC services to Indigenous communities. NPs have an advanced scope of practice that provides health outcomes equal or better than their medical colleagues. This care is provided peripheral to the western business model of PHC, successfully integrating nursing and medical knowledge in a whānau-centred design. Evidence indicates whānau prefer a representative workforce. However, only 9% of NPs identify as Māori, contrasting the 17.4% Māori population. Emphasizing the inherent and inherited contribution of Māori NPs is essential for meeting the PHC needs of whānau, hapū, and hapori. Although growing evidence highlights the transformative roles of NPs as medical and nursing professionals, there is a need for research that focuses on the Indigenous contributions of Māori NPs. Undertaking Kaupapa Māori research on the contribution of Māori NPs within PHC paves the way for innovative strategies to redesign PHC in Aotearoa and other Indigenous communities.