October 26, 2016
Wai Research reveals western thinking
Wai Research is today celebrating its first two years by releasing two reports that should contribute to the way the Waipareira Trust develops and delivers services to the whanau of West Auckland.
Director Tanya Allport says the unit has grown rapidly, and now has eight researchers.
One report, Kaupapa Maori Models of Psychological Therapy and Mental Health Services stems from its concern that existing services don’t seem to be making a difference to the statistics.
The other report, He Puawaitanga o Nga Tamariki: West Auckland Whanau Talk About Child Well Being, was a partnership with Waitemata Health paediatrician Tim Jellyman.
"He came to Waipareira and said I would really like to look at what community think wellbeing actually means because in terms of how we measure wellbeing it is often tied to what government thinks. So it's a really high level vision of what wellbeing is for tamariki which doesn't necessarily align with what caregivers and whanau on the ground think wellbeing is," she says.
Dr Allport says Wai Research will also appoint Professor Sir Mason Durie as its pou or patron, formalising the close support and mentoring role he has played in the unit since it started.
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