Whakatōmuri, Whakamua: the C3 Research Programme
The Whakatōmuri, Whakamua: Walking Backwards into the Future of Māori Cancer Care Programme Grant (also referred to as the C3 Programme Grant) will explore aspects of the availability, affordability and acceptability of cancer care for Māori and their whānau, with a view to informing improvements in care access and survival outcomes. This five-year Programme commenced in November 2023, and is funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC).
Using our guiding whakatauki – Kia whakatomuri te haere whakamua: Walk backwards into the future with eyes fixed on the past – and using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods, we will first draw together the current state of cancer treatment, supportive care and travel burden for Māori with cancer. We will then explore the future of cancer care for Māori, including the likely future incidence and need for cancer treatment, and finish by exploring the characteristics of a future cancer care system that is fit-for-purpose in terms of responsiveness to Māori.
Specifically, our Programme Objectives are:
- Objective 1: Describe the current provision of cancer treatment to Māori
- Objective 2: Describe the current state of whānau-centred cancer care, and develop tools for supporting the delivery of this care
- Objective 3: Describe and explore the travel need for Māori accessing cancer care
- Objective 4: Describe the future cancer burden and care need for Māori
- Objective 5: Describe and explore the characteristics of a more responsive system for Māori with cancer
These five Objectives map directly to the five Projects within the Programme.
Whakatōmuri, whakamua: Walking backwards into the future of Māori cancer care
Our guiding whakatauki:
Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua – Walk backwards into the future with eyes fixed on the past
Kia Whakatōmuri: Looking Backward
Project 1: What is the current provision of cancer treatment for Māori?
- Describe current volumes of public-funded surgery, radiation and systemic therapy delivered to Māori with cancer
- Describe both overall and by treatment speciality (e.g. general surgery)
Project 2: How do we meet the supportive care needs of whānau Māori?
- Explore the current state of whānau-centred care in cancer services
- Conduct digital storytelling with a whānau-centred focus
- Develop and trial a whānau-focused supportive care needs tool
- Feasibility test and training of whānau-focused tool with health professionals
Project 3: What is the travel need for Māori accessing cancer care?
- Describe the travel distance and time to access cancer treatment by Māori
- Examine inequities vs non-Māori
- Examine barriers, facilitators and solutions to travel distance and time to access cancer treatment for Māori
Te Haere Whakamua: Moving Forward
Project 4: What will the future cancer care need be for Māori?
- Describe the likely future incidence of cancer for Māori
- Describe the likely required volume of publicly funded surgery, radiation and systemic therapy for Māori with cancer
Project 5: How can future need be met with a more responsive system?
- Describe future secondary care workforce need for Māori
- Explore cancer professional organisations' commitment to Ti Tiriti and whānau-centred care provision
- Explore how to reorient secondary care services to whānau-centred care
Programme synthesis, dissemination and future planning
- Synthesis of Programme findings within final study report
- Completion of Programme dissemination
- Explore gaps in evidence that require future work
- Completion of plan for future research agenda based on Programme findings.