Māori hauora ā iwi competencies. Māori public health competencies (2021)

Background In 2017, the University of Otago’s Department of Preventive and Social Medicine undertook a stocktake to determine what hauora Māori content was being taught across its hauora ā iwi/public health curriculum. Hauora ā iwi/public health postgraduate papers include ‘Foundations of Hauora Māori’ and ‘Hauora Māori – Policy, Practice and Research’. Undergraduate papers include ‘Hauora Māori: Challenges and Opportunities’ and ‘Rangahau Hauora Māori - Māori Health Research’. However, the stocktake found that, with the exception of two other courses, there was little hauora Māori content in other public health courses and public health teaching across the Department’s programmes (including courses taught to medical students). When considering how the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine could respond it became clear that there were no agreed core Māori hauora ā iwi/public health competencies that could be used to inform the development of programme and course curricula. In 2019, Sue Crengle, Kate Morgaine and Fran Kewene received funding from the University of Otago’s Committee for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT) to develop a set of core Māori public health competencies. This document is the result of that work. During consultation hui about this document, we considered feedback from three different groups: practitioners, government organisations and academics. In responding to feedback on the first draft of this document, we have maintained a focus on the original purpose of the document, which was and is to focus on a set of competencies for universities and other tertiary institutions to use. We also acknowledge that this is a ‘living document’ and anticipate that it will be revised in three to five years’ time. Future revisions may incorporate the results of planned further research, which focuses on how to apply these competencies.