Te Ara Poutama: Living Well With Heart Disease

2025

Authors

Korohina, E.

Abstract

Te Ara Poutama – Living Well with Heart Disease (TAP) is a Māori-led heart health research programme grounded in aspirations, values, and knowledge systems of Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. Anchored at Manawaora Research, an integrated Indigenous health and research centre, this programme responds to the longstanding impacts of colonisation and systemic inequities in cardiovascular health for Māori.

Rather than fitting Indigenous knowledge into pre-existing health systems, TAP reimagines these systems by centring Māori leadership, lived experiences, and worldviews. A multidisciplinary team—including clinicians, scientists, public health experts and data specialists—supports this Māori-led approach through collaborative, relational practice grounded in shared values and Indigenous self-determination.

Partnerships with Māori health providers and communities have been crucial to building trust and relevance. Across four regions, a national co-design process unfolded through a series of community-led workshops, shaped by the cultural protocols of each host community. These gatherings created culturally safe spaces for Māori families to share experiences and shape research priorities.

Alongside the co-design, two major initiatives sit at the heart of TAP. The Māori Heart Health Survey collected responses from over 1,000 Māori, creating one of the largest Indigenous-led heart health datasets in the country. The Kura Raumati internship supports the next generation of Māori heart health researchers by embedding students in community-based research grounded in Māori knowledge systems and scientific methods.

TAP offers a compelling model of Indigenous-led, community-driven, multidisciplinary research that transforms systems, centres Indigenous voices, and creates solutions that are locally resonant and globally relevant.

Publication Link

https://www.heartlungcirc.org/article/S1443-9506(25)00346-4/fulltext