At the beginning of February, the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine held their annual In-house Convention. The convention offers a chance for the department to come together, and showcase the wide-range of fantastic research that is being conducted within our department. This year NTMHRU Assistant Research Fellow - Māori health, Ms Vicky Nelson (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Ruanui), presented at the convention. Vicky presented on a research project that herself and Associate Professor Sue Crengle (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) are conducting this year.
The project titled 'Rangatahi Primary Mental Health - A Kaupapa Māori Approach to Identifying the Gaps and Needs' aims to explore what rangatahi mental health needs and gaps are within community and primary mental healthcare contexts; and explore primary mental health pathways and strategies that would address this need, being responsive and effective for rangatahi Māori and their whānau.
The project will include wānanga and kanohi ki te kanohi interviews in Ōtepoti, Taranaki and Te Tai Tokerau. The project is funded by a Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Scoping Grant and 2018 Dunedin School of Medicine Deans Bequest Grant. The project is being conducted with the support and assistance of a senior Māori research advisory team and community organisations, including Ōtepoti Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust, Tu Tama Wahine O Taranaki, and those conducting Rangatahi Mental Health Programmes in Te Tai Tokerau. We would like to thank all of our advisors and the organisations that are supporting this project and important kaupapa.
We will begin recruitment for participants for each of our wānanga shortly, so please keep an eye out for those posts.
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