ObjectivesThe aim was to understand how participants engage with Brown Buttabean Motivation (BBM) a grassroots, Pacific-led holistic health programme and the meaning it has in their lives. The objectives were to explore the impact BBM had on all aspects of their health and well-being, what attracted them, why they stayed, identify possible enablers and barriers to engagement, and understand impact of COVID-19 restrictions.DesignQualitative study with thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews of BBM participants, followed by theoretical deductive analysis of coded data guided by Pacific Fonofale and Māori Te Whare Tapa Whā health models. In this meeting-house metaphor, floor is family, roof is culture, house-posts represent physical, mental, spiritual and sociodemographic health and well-being, with surroundings of environment, time and context.SettingInterviews of BBM members conducted in South Auckland, New Zealand, 2020.Participants22 interviewees (50% female) aged 24–60 years of mixed Pacific and Māori ethnicities with a mixture of regular members, attendees of the programme for those morbidly obese and trainers.ResultsTwo researchers independently coded data with adjudication and kappa=0.61 between coders. Participants identified the interactive holistic nature of health and well-being. As well as physical, mental and spiritual benefits, BBM helped many reconnect with both their family and their culture.ConclusionsBBM’s primary aim is weight-loss motivation. Many weight loss studies provide programmes to improve physical exercise and nutrition, but seldom address sustainability and other core factors such as mental health. Programmes are often designed by researchers or authorities. BBM is a community-embedded intervention, with no reliance external authorities for its ongoing implementation. It addresses many factors impacting participants’ lives and social determinants of health as well as its core business of exercise and diet change. Our results indicate that BBM’s holistic approach and responsiveness to perceived community needs may contribute to its sustained success.

ObjectivesTo provide a sociodemographic profile of students enrolled in their first year of a health professional pre-registration programme offered within New Zealand (NZ) tertiary institutions.DesignObservational, cross-sectional study. Data were sought from NZ tertiary education institutions for all eligible students accepted into the first ‘professional’ year of a health professional programme for the 5-year period 2016–2020 inclusive. Variables of interest: gender, citizenship, ethnicity, rural classification, socioeconomic deprivation, school type and school socioeconomic scores. Analyses were carried out using the R statistics software.SettingAotearoa NZ.ParticipantsAll students (domestic and international) accepted into the first ‘professional’ year of a health professional programme leading to registration under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.ResultsNZ’s health workforce pre-registration students do not reflect the diverse communities they will serve in several important dimensions. There is a systematic under-representation of students who identify as Māori and Pacific, and students who come from low socioeconomic and rural backgrounds. The enrolment rate for Māori students is about 99 per 100 000 eligible population and for some Pacific ethnic groups is lower still, compared with 152 per 100 000 for NZ European students. The unadjusted rate ratio for enrolment for both Māori students and Pacific students versus ‘NZ European and Other’ students is approximately 0.7.ConclusionsWe recommend that: (1) there should be a nationally coordinated system for collecting and reporting on the sociodemographic characteristics of the health workforce pre-registration; (2) mechanisms be developed to allow the agencies that fund tertiary education to base their funding decisions directly on the projected health workforce needs of the health system and (3) tertiary education funding decisions be based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the foundational constitutional agreement between the Indigenous people, Māori and the British Crown signed in 1840) and have a strong pro-equity focus.

Background Buttabean Motivation (BBM) is a Pacific-led organisation which aims to reduce obesity amongst Pacific and Māori people in New Zealand enabling them to choose a healthy and active life-style for the duration of their lives, their children, their wider family and the community. BBM offers a holistic approach to weight loss, recognising that mental health, family and cultural factors all play essential and critical role in nutrition and physical activity patterns. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of BBM for sustained health and wellbeing outcomes among its predominantly Pacific and Māori participants for both general BBM members and those with morbid obesity attending the ‘From the Couch’ programme. Methods Quasi-experimental pre-post quantitative cohort study design with measured or self-reported weight at various time intervals for both cohorts. Weight will be analysed with general linear mixed model for repeated measures, and compared with a prediction model generated from the literature using a mixed method meta-analysis. The secondary outcome is change in pre- and post scores of Māori scale of health and well-being, Hua Oranga. Discussion Multiple studies have shown that many diet and physical activity programmes can create short-term weight loss. The fundamental question is whether BBM members maintain weight loss over time. In New Zealand, Pacific and Māori engagement in health enhancing programmes remains an important strategy for achieving better health and wellbeing outcomes, and quality of life. Internationally, the collectivist cultures of indigenous and migrant and minority populations, living within dominant individualist western ideologies, have much greater burdens of obesity. If BBM members demonstrate sustained weight loss, this culturally informed community-based approach could benefit to other indigenous and migrant populations. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12621000931875 (BBM general members) First submitted 10 May 2021, registration completed 15 July 2021. ACTRN12621001676808 7 (From the Couch) First submitted 28 October 2021, registration completed 7 December 2021.

IntroductionThe community group Brown Buttabean Motivation (BBM) initially began to assist Auckland Pasifika and Māori to manage weight problems, predominantly through community-based exercise sessions and social support. BBM’s activities expanded over time to include many other components of healthy living in response to community need. With advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, BBM outreach grew to include a foodbank distributing an increasing amount of donated healthy food to families in need, a community kitchen and influenza and COVID-19 vaccine drives. A strong social media presence has served as the main means of communication with the BBM community as well as use of traditional news media (written, radio, television) to further engage with vulnerable members of the community.Methods and analysisThe study aims to conduct mixed method process evaluation of BBM’s community engagement through in-person, social and news media outreach activities with respect to the health and well-being of Pasifika and Māori over time. The project is informed by theoretical constructs including Pacific Fa’afaletui and Fonofale and Māori Te Whare Tapa Whā Māori research frameworks and principles of Kaupapa Māori. It is further framed using the concept of community-driven diffusion of knowledge and engagement through social networks. Data sources include in-person community engagement databases, social and news media outreach data from archived documents and online resources. Empirical data will undergo longitudinal and time series statistical analyses. Qualitative text thematic analyses will be conducted using the software NVivo, Leximancer and AntConc. Image and video visual data will be randomly sampled from two social media platforms. The social media dataset contains almost 8000 visual artefacts.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval obtained from University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee UAHPEC 23456. Findings will be published in peer-reviewed publications, disseminated through community meetings and conferences and via BBM social network platforms.Trial registration numberACTRN 12621 00093 1875

Background Brown Buttabean Motivation (BBM) is an organization providing support for Pacific people and Indigenous Māori to manage their weight, mainly through community-based exercise sessions and social support. It was started by DL, a man of Samoan and Māori descent, following his personal weight loss journey from a peak weight of 210 kg to less than half that amount. DL is a charismatic leader with a high media profile who is successful in soliciting donations from corporations in money and kindness. Over time, BBM’s activities have evolved to include healthy eating, food parcel provision, and other components of healthy living. A co-design team of university researchers and BBM staff are evaluating various components of the program and organization. Objective The purpose of this study is to build culturally centered system dynamics logic models to serve as the agreed theories of change for BBM and provide a basis for its ongoing effectiveness, sustainability, and continuous quality improvements. Methods A systems science approach will clarify the purpose of BBM and identify the systemic processes needed to effectively and sustainably achieve the study’s purpose. Cognitive mapping interviews with key stakeholders will produce maps of their conceptions of BBM’s goals and related cause-and-effect processes. The themes arising from the analysis of these maps will provide the initial indicators of change to inform the questions for 2 series of group model building workshops. In these workshops, 2 groups (BBM staff and BBM members) will build qualitative systems models (casual loop diagrams), identifying feedback loops in the structures and processes of the BBM system that will enhance the program’s effectiveness, sustainability, and quality improvement. The Pacific and Māori team members will ensure that workshop content, processes, and outputs are grounded in cultural approaches appropriate for the BBM community, with several Pacific and Māori frameworks informing the methods. These include the Samoan fa’afaletui research framework, which requires different perspectives to be woven together to create new knowledge, and kaupapa Māori–aligned research approaches, which create a culturally safe space to conduct research by, with, and for Māori. The Pacific fonofale and Māori te whare tapa whā holistic frameworks for interpreting people’s dimensions of health and well-being will also inform this study. Results Systems logic models will inform BBM’s future developments as a sustainable organization and support its growth and development beyond its high dependence on DL’s charismatic leadership. Conclusions This study will adopt a novel and innovative approach to co-designing culturally centered system dynamics logic models for BBM by using systems science methods embedded within Pacific and Māori worldviews and weaving together a number of frameworks and methodologies. These will form the theories of change to enhance BBM’s effectiveness, sustainability, and continuous improvement. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN 12621-00093-1875; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=382320 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/44229