Background The OL@-OR@ mobile health programme was co-designed with Māori and Pasifika communities in New Zealand, to support healthy lifestyle behaviours. We aimed to determine whether use of the programme improved adherence to health-related guidelines among Māori and Pasifika communities in New Zealand compared with a control group on a waiting list for the programme. Methods The OL@-OR@ trial was a 12-week, two-arm, cluster-randomised controlled trial. A cluster was defined as any distinct location or setting in New Zealand where people with shared interests or contexts congregated, such as churches, sports clubs, and community groups. Members of a cluster were eligible to participate if they were aged 18 years or older, had regular access to a mobile device or computer, and had regular internet access. Clusters of Māori and of Pasifika (separately) were randomly assigned (1:1) to either the intervention or control condition. The intervention group received the OL@-OR@ mHealth programme (smartphone app and website). The control group received a control version of the app that only collected baseline and outcome data. The primary outcome was selfreported adherence to health-related guidelines, which were measured with a composite health behaviour score (of physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, and fruit and vegetable intake) at 12 weeks. The secondary outcomes were self-reported adherence to health-related behaviour guidelines at 4 weeks; self-reported bodyweight at 12 weeks; and holistic health and wellbeing status at 12 weeks, in all enrolled individuals in eligible clusters; and user engagement with the app, in individuals allocated to the intervention. Adverse events were not collected. This study is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12617001484336. Findings Between Jan 24 and Aug 14, 2018, we enrolled 337 Māori participants from 19 clusters and 389 Pasifika participants from 18 clusters (n=726 participants) in the intervention group and 320 Māori participants from 15 clusters and 405 Pasifika participants from 17 clusters (n=725 participants) in the control group. Of these participants, 227 (67%) Māori participants and 347 (89%) Pasifika participants (n=574 participants) in the intervention group and 281 (88%) Māori participants and 369 (91%) Pasifika participants (n=650 participants) in the control group completed the 12-week follow-up and were included in the final analysis. Relative to baseline, adherence to health-related behaviour guidelines increased at 12 weeks in both groups (315 [43%] of 726 participants at baseline to 329 [57%] of 574 participants in the intervention group; 331 [46%] of 725 participants to 369 [57%] of 650 participants in the control group); however, there was no significant difference between intervention and control groups in adherence at 12 weeks (odds ratio [OR] 1•13; 95% CI 0•84-1•52; p=0•42). Furthermore, the proportion of participants adhering to guidelines on physical activity (351 [61%] of 574 intervention group participants...

Background Despite incremental gains in the Aotearoa New Zealand health sector, Māori and Pacific peoples still experience poorer health outcomes than non-Māori and non-Pacific. Access to the latest research and innovation is critical to improving and addressing health outcomes and health inequities in particular. However, there are numerous challenges to translating research into practice including that there is currently no known a specific infrastructure in Aotearoa New Zealand to facilitate this process. The aim of the project is to develop a network of community providers, researchers and health systems representatives that can help facilitate the implementation of novel and innovative programmes and products that help to meet the health needs of Māori and Pacific communities. Methods This project has three stages, one of which has been completed. In Stage 1, we engaged with key leaders of organisations from various components in the health system through a co-design process to identify parameters and infrastructure of the network. In Stage 2, we propose to construct the network involving approximately 20–30 community providers (and other affiliated researchers and health system representatives) and refine its parameters through an additional co-design process. Additionally, we will use a mixed methods research design using survey and interviews to identify perceived implementation needs, facilitators and barriers to help inform the work in the third stage. In Stage 3, we will support the active implementation of evidence-based programmes with a smaller number of providers (approximately four to eight community providers depending on the complexity of the implementation). Mixed methods research will be conducted to understand facilitators and barriers to implementation processes and outcomes. Discussion The proposed network infrastructure is an equity-oriented strategy focused on building capacity through a strength-based approach that can help address inequities over time. Our “proof-of-concept” study will not be able to change inequities in that time period given its relatively small scale and time period, but it should set the foundation for continued equity-oriented work.