Video summary
In Aotearoa New Zealand, significant health inequities continue to impact Māori communities, largely stemming from the lasting effects of colonization and healthcare systems that have historically failed to reflect Māori priorities or traditional knowledge. For generations, practices such as Rongoa Māori have been essential for supporting community well-being, with specific plants like kawakawa holding a revered place in this tradition. However, current health research often overlooks these perspectives by focusing solely on extracting scientific data without honoring the people and cultural contexts behind them, creating a barrier that prevents meaningful progress toward equity.
To address this gap, Dalia Kadow's PhD research proposes shifting the starting point of clinical studies away from laboratories and trials to instead begin with active listening and engagement within Māori communities. Her approach involves collaborating directly with Rongoa practitioners to understand how kawakawa is utilized in practice, identifying important cultural protocols known as tikanga, and defining what culturally safe research looks like from a Māori viewpoint. These foundational conversations are crucial for uncovering the barriers that hinder participation and discovering facilitators that can help overcome them together, ensuring that future studies are co-designed rather than imposed upon communities.
By prioritizing these dialogues before any study design begins, this research ensures that Māori voices, priorities, and aspirations guide the development of culturally grounded interventions involving kawakawa. This methodological shift aims to build trust by shaping research with the community instead of simply for them, which is essential when working on topics as sensitive as health outcomes in indigenous populations. The insights gained from this initial phase will directly inform a subsequent dietary intervention study, creating a pathway that moves beyond mere extraction toward genuine partnership and mutual respect between researchers and Māori practitioners.
Ultimately, the goal of this work is to contribute to greater health equity and improved health outcomes across Aotearoa by transforming how research intersects with indigenous knowledge systems. Dadow concludes that trust in research flourishes only when it is built on community collaboration rather than external imposition, urging viewers to see kawakawa not just as a plant but as a symbol of the journey from traditional knowledge to trusted partnership. By following this path, future health initiatives can better honor Māori heritage while addressing critical public health challenges, ensuring that science serves its people with integrity and cultural sensitivity.
Read the full video transcript
What if the biggest barrier to better
health research isn't science?
What if it is trust?
In Aotearoa, New Zealand, health
inequities continue to affect Māori
communities.
Many of these inequities are linked to
lasting impact of colonization and
health system that haven't always
reflected Māori priorities and
knowledge.
For generations, Māori knowledge and
practices have supported health and
well-being.
One important aspect of this knowledge
is Rongoa Māori, a traditional Māori
medicine.
Within Rongoa Māori, kawakawa, a taonga,
also known as the New Zealand pepper
tree, has long held an important place
and has been supported health and
well-being.
However, Māori perspective and
traditional knowledge haven't always
been meaningfully reflected in health
systems and researches that shape health
outcomes.
To study kawakawa, we cannot just
extract the science. We must honor the
people and knowledge behind it.
So, before designing any future clinical
study involving Māori communities, we
need to begin in the right place.
Not with laboratory, not with clinical
trial, but with listening.
This is where my PhD begins. I will
engage with Māori communities and Rongoa
Māori practitioners to understand how
kawakawa is used
and what tikanga and knowledge are
important and how culturally safe
research should look like from their
perspective.
These conversations are very important
as it help to understand what are the
barriers and facilitators
of their participation in the research
and how we can together overcome these.
These conversations are very This
findings will inform to
to to shape next phase of conducting
culturally grounded co-designed dietary
intervention with kawakawa.
My research does ensures that Maori
voices, priorities, and aspirations are
taken into account before designing any
future study.
As that may influence Maori health and
contribute to greater health equities
and better health outcomes across
Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Because trust research is strongest with
com- when it's shaped with community,
not simply for community.
So, next time when you see a kawakawa, I
hope you see it more than a plant. I
hope you see it as a pathway, a pathway
from knowledge to trust to partnership,
and ultimately to better health
outcomes.
Na mihi nui.
>> [applause]
>> Thank you.