Enhancing Well-Being and Social Connectedness for Māori Elders Through a Peer Education (Tuakana-Teina) Programme: A Cross-Sectional Baseline Study

Abstract

Background: Māori kaumātua (elders) face stark health and social inequities compared to non-Māori New Zealanders. The tuakana-teina (older sibling-younger sibling) peer education programme is a strengths-based approach to enhance well-being and social connectedness. The purpose of this study is to present the baseline data from this programme and identify correlates of well-being outcomes.Method: Participants included 128 kaumātua who completed a self-report survey about health-related quality of life, spirituality, social connection and loneliness, life satisfaction, cultural identity and connection, elder abuse, health service utilisation and demographics.Findings: Multiple regression models illustrated the following correlates of outcomes: (a) self-rated health: needing more help with daily tasks (β = −0.36) and housing problems (β = –0.17); (b) health-related quality of life: needing more help with daily tasks (β = –0.31), housing problems (β = –0.21), and perceived autonomy (β = 0.19); (c) spiritual well-being: understanding of tikanga (cultural protocols) (β = 0.32) and perceived autonomy (β = 0.23); (d) life satisfaction: social support (β = 0.23), sense of purpose (β = 0.23), cultural identity (β = 0.24), trouble paying bills (β = –0.16), and housing problems (β = –0.16); (e) loneliness: elder abuse (β = 0.27), social support (β = –0.21), and missing pleasure of being with whānau (extended family) (β = 0.19).Conclusions: Key correlates for outcomes centred on social support, housing problems, cultural connection and perceived autonomy. These correlates are largely addressed through the programme where tuakana/peer educators provide support and links to social and health services to teina/peer recipients in need. This study illustrates needs and challenges for kaumātua, whilst the larger programme represents a strengths-based and culturally-centred approach to address health issues related to ageing in an Indigenous population.

From Kaimahi to Enrolled Nurse: A Successful Workforce Initiative to Increase Māori Nurses in Primary Health Care

“…Being Māori was instrumental in shaping culturally appropriate support (Komene et al, 2023). This included flexible work placements, responsive modes of learning, cohorting tuakana-teina (peer mentoring) support models, and various academic entry points (Oetzel et al, 2021;Wikaire et al, 2017). A benefit of supporting cultural identity meant a return investment in working with hapori bringing iwitanga (people-specific knowledge) to meet diverse and complex health needs (Sewell, 2017).…”

“…Te reo Māori (the Māori language), mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), tikanga Māori (Māori custom), and ahuatanga Māori (Māori characteristics) were actively legitimated and validated (Cram, 2017). This approach also shifted discourse towards a strengths-based framework, focusing on Māori self-determination and validating mātauranga Māori (Oetzel et al, 2021).…”

The Relationship between Social Support and Dimensions of Elder Maltreatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Afterward, the full texts of 135 articles were evaluated, and after a careful review of the literature, 101 articles were excluded due to not meeting the inclusion criteria. The relationship between social support and the dimensions of maltreatment was investigated in 34 articles as the main or secondary aim, and eight articles were not included in the meta-analysis due to the lack of reporting the OR index (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26).…”

“…The sample size varied from 128 (20) to 26,229 (42) Participants. These studies were geographically diverse and included 22 countries (three joint studies in several countries) (38,39,43) in ve WHO regions, including Africa (44), America (21,22,24,26,40,41,43,(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51), Europe (38, 39, 52-56), Southeast Asia (23,37,57), and Western Paci c Ocean (19,20,25,42,(58)(59)(60)(61). Table 2 tabulates the characteristics of the articles.…”

Social Connectedness and Associations with Gambling Risk in New Zealand

“…Unfortunately, ethnic minorities or subgroups often report high levels of social isolation and loneliness [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. In NZ, Māori kaumātua (elders) experience varying degrees of cultural dissonance and have reported feelings of separation and social isolation [ 39 ], while Pacific people have reported generally being well connected socially with others but with a significantly lower perceived social support than Māori and other groups (i.e., non-Māori, non-Pacific people) [ 40 ].…”