Kaupapa Māori multimethod, qualitative evaluation—the Huringa Pai Māori health initiative: To inform further Māori whānau-led developments to optimise hauora

Abstract

A kaupapa Māori multimethod, qualitative evaluation of the Huringa Pai Māori health initiative was conducted from May 2019 to May 2020. The evaluation aimed both to clarify the positive enabling and sustaining aspects of whānau wellbeing efforts, and to identify the effective characteristics of the operation of Huringa Pai. A retrospective intervention logic was developed through a consultative process, and data were collected with the specific purpose of clarifying the inputs, activities, outputs, and short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes of the initiative. This account of a kaupapa Māori approach to evaluating an iwi healthcare provider contributes to evaluation practice by using a conventional (western) intervention logic alongside an approach that sought inclusive participant input through use of multiple data-collection strategies that were cognisant of kaupapa Māori practices throughout. Through the evaluation process, nine elements emerged as positively enabling and sustaining whānau wellbeing efforts, and nine characteristics of the effective establishment and operation of Huringa Pai were identified.