Mahitahi / Co-design: finding common ground
Co-design and mahitahi have synergies, and working at the interface between Western and mātauranga (knowledge) Māori systems can provide innovative solutions that draw on the strengths of both worldviews
Speaker Bios
Anna Rolleston
Ngāti Ranginui / Ngāi TeRangi / Ngāti Pukenga
Dr Anna Rolleston is Managing Director of The Centre for Health. Her vision and lifelong mission is to create a healthcare system that works for you and with you. A system where you are fully informed of your choices and where you get to choose your own pathway to better health and wellbeing. The philosophy at The Centre for Health is grounded in values that come from a Māori worldview and acknowledges an all-of-person, and culturally appropriate approach to health and wellbeing regardless of your cultural context. Anna leads the philosophical direction on behalf of the Centre for Health team. Anna is a recognised health practitioner and health researcher and holds various governance roles within the health sector.
Marama McDonald
Ngāti Kauwhata / Rangitane descent
Dr Marama McDonald is of Ngāti Kauwhata and Rangitane descent and works as a researcher in the area of Māori health and wellbeing. She is passionate about Māori health development that focuses on the ‘whānau’ as the source for positive change and growth. She contributes to Māori health and wellbeing at both a research/policy level but also at the community/grassroots level through her involvement in local kura kaupapa and wharekura. Marama’s faith in an integrative, holistic approach to healthcare is grounded partly in her academic research but also largely from her experience within the health system. Marama and her whānau accessed holistic integrative health services alongside conventional medicine during her son’s battle with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and is a fierce proponent of this approach to treating and preventing illness for individuals and whānau. Marama’s current research interests are in Kaupapa Māori research, ageing, mental health and holistic models of health. Her next research project is looking at the development of a kaupapa Māori mindfulness intervention for tamariki/rangatahi (children/teenagers).
