The primary goal of health research is to learn more about human health to prevent and appropriately treat diseases. Many lives have benefited from research yet, on occasion, research can cause harm to indigenous populations (Baydala et. al, 2006, Dingwall, 2008 & Hayward, et. al, 2021). Conducting research ‘on’ or ‘about’ indigenous populations results in findings that do not align with indigenous principles or values and resulting in poorer health outcomes, promoting acculturation and increasing health inequity.
This is evident in the health of the indigenous population of Aotearoa (New Zealand) (Te Kaunihera Rata O Aotearoa, 2019). This is also relevant to wāhine Māori (Māori women) with diabetes in pregnancy (DiP) an example of this is, Māori with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) have a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) or Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) in a shorter time frame of two years than the predicted five years in the overall general GDM population. (Reid et. al 2018, New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes, 2022)
Indigenous research methods allows opportunities to amplify the voice of indigenous women in healthcare delivery.
Founded in Kaupapa Māori qualitative research, the Masters Research project Ngā Hua o Te Kōpū aims to understand the experience of wāhine Māori and their whānau (families) who have had a pregnancy with diabetes. Kaupapa Māori methodology can be simply defined as research done by Māori, for Māori and with Māori from conception, through to implementation and transformation.
Focusing on amplifying Māori voice to improve DIP outcomes and how care is delivered, ten to twelve wāhine Māori (and their whānau) have participated in five focus groups in geographically diverse areas of the Waikato region, Aotearoa.
While the collection of data is currently ongoing, preliminary themes following Kaupapa Māori grounded analysis will be presented, alongside a deeper consideration of the role of indigenous methodology in research with indigenous pregnant individuals. Findings will be presented in the following three areas 1) healthcare needs of Māori wāhine hapū (pregnant women) with diabetes, 2) indigenous research with wāhine hapū and 3) the learnings of an developing indigenous researcher.\
Datta (2018) states that in indigenous methodology “both the research and researcher increasingly require decolonisation so that the researcher can create a positive impact on participants and the community and conduct research ethically”. As an emerging indigenous researcher, how this work has decolonised both the research and the researcher will be discussed.
While Western health research has led to significant developments in pregnancy care, refining and improving health care practices requires the inclusion of indigenous research, that looks human health in a different angle and light and that is focussed on improving health outcomes for indigenous populations around the world.