Marae-based Health Researcher Receives Medal For Transformative Work In Māori Communities

“Do what you say you’re going to do and work with integrity.”

This, says Cheryl Davies, is what guides her research with Māori communities.

Cheryl (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Wehiwehi, Ngāti Mutunga ki Te Wharekauri) heads Tu Kotahi Māori Asthma and Research Trust1 – the first Māori asthma society in New Zealand – which is based at Kōkiri Marae in Lower Hutt.

Originally established by Cheryl in 1995 to provide asthma education and advocacy services to whānau in the wider Wellington region, Tu Kotahi soon branched out into health research, going from helping recruit Māori for studies at the University of Otago, Wellington, to participating in all areas of the research process.

And now, Cheryl has been awarded the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) Te Tohu Rapuora Medal at tonight’s Royal Society Te Apārangi Research Honours ceremony, in Wellington, for making a tangible difference to improving health outcomes.

“It’s often a big thing for whānau to let you come in to their homes and communities to undertake research,” says Cheryl. “I spent a lot of my time with whānau in those early years allaying their fears about research and building the trust and credibility of Tu Kotahi and Kōkiri Marae as researchers coming into their communities.”

Cheryl says Dr Lis Ellison-Loschmann (Flax Analytics) and Teresea Olsen, general manager of Kōkiri Marae, have been two of her greatest mentors. With their support, she says she has been privileged to work on studies with Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare, He Kāinga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme, the Cancer and Chronic Conditions (C3) research group, and others at the University of Otago, Wellington, that have made a significant difference to health outcomes and highlighted successful health pathways.

Cheryl’s journey into research began in the 1990s following the release of the Māori Asthma Review by Professor Eru Pōmare, which recommended substantial improvements in asthma management and education, with significant involvement of Māori. Her work with Bernadette Jones’ team on the HRC-funded Pukapuka Hauora (Healthy Lungs) Asthma Study revealed important insights into how whānau managed tamariki with asthma, with those findings guiding how to work with whānau.

Cheryl says she soon came to realise through the community services provided by Tu Kotahi and Kōkiri Marae that housing had a huge impact on the ability of whānau to manage their asthma and respiratory conditions. Early research with Distinguished Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman on the benefits of insulation and heating contributed to the establishment of the Warmer Kiwi Homes Programme, and subsidised heat pumps in homes.

Seeing the positive impact that insulated homes and heating had on the whānau she worked alongside inspired Cheryl to continue to expand Tu Kotahi’s research.

Cheryl went on to lead the development of a self-management programme for Māori living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which provided routine health checks for the whole whānau. She also led a research project ‘Tamariki Manawa Ngāwari – Children breathing easily’, which created an asthma toolkit for use in 29 kōhanga reo throughout the Hutt Valley, Upper Hutt, Wellington and Porirua regions, along with support for parents seeking regular input from health providers on managing their child’s asthma.

Tu Kotahi’s involvement in Oranga Waha, an oral health research priorities project, led to several initiatives to support community access to dental services such as the development of payment plans, oral health packs for kōhanga reo, and referrals to low-cost dentists associated with their primary health organisation.

More recently, Cheryl has undertaken research on chronic pain with Dr Hemakumar Devan.

This research has directly led to the establishment of a marae-based pain clinic at Kōkiri Marae, the first in New Zealand, and the delivery of a six-week programme to help support whānau to manage their pain rather than rely on opioids. This work has contributed to the national model of care for people living with chronic pain (Mamaenga Roa) and is cited as an exemplar case study for community-led solutions to pain management.

Cheryl believes Tu Kotahi’s success in the research space largely comes down to her team knowing their communities and always having a whānau ora focus.

“I’m mindful when we do our research that we can offer support services to whānau if needed. For example, we might go into someone’s home because they have a child with asthma, but once we get there, we can see that their home’s damp and that the whānau need some kai. We know that we can help address a lot of these issues through the wrap-around support of Kōkiri Marae and the other services within our whānau ora collective.”

HRC Chief Executive Professor Sunny Collings says Cheryl and Tu Kotahi’s research has led to tangible health gains through the delivery of effective and timely health services.

“Cheryl has consistently shown commitment to ensuring that the research is highly responsive to the health needs and aspirations of local communities and that whānau benefit directly. The findings of her research are then directly incorporated into services, alongside the more traditional pathways to policy impact, which has proved to be a highly effective way of supporting improved health outcomes for communities with high health needs,” says Professor Collings.

[1] Tu Kotahi is part of Kōkiri Marae Hauora, an urban pan-tribal health and social services provider, and a founding member of Tākiri Mai Te Ata Whānau Ora Collective.

The HRC’s Te Tohu Rapuora Medal recognises the contribution to Māori health leadership of a single researcher, research team, or community group. It is one of three prestigious HRC medals presented annually at the Royal Society Te Apārangi Research Honours. This includes the Liley Medal*, which recognises an outstanding contribution to the health and medical sciences, and the Beaven Medal awarded for excellence in translational research. Te Tohu Rapuora recognises recipients who have ensured the translation and dissemination of their findings to maximise the uptake and impact of their work for the benefit of Māori. Additionally, the work being recognised will have contributed to fostering the capacity and capability of the Māori health research workforce, beyond the nominee’s own research career.

*Not awarded this year.

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