Communities getting things done: Māori community leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic

<h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Purpose</h3> In 2023, researchers from Tauranga, Aotearoa New Zealand (hereinafter referred to as Aotearoa) carried out a study to explore the unique strengths of Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa) services in addressing the needs of their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. <h3>Methods</h3> Two case studies of Māori providers in the North Island's Bay of Plenty region were undertaken. A qualitative <i>kaupapa</i> Māori (philosophical doctrine) approach was utilised across three methods to inform the research: 1) review of community materials, 2) <i>whakawhiti kōrero</i> (reciprocal discussions), and 3) <i>whānau</i> (family) narratives. The research included 34 participants, sourced from three groups: <i>kaiwhakahaere</i> (leadership), <i>kaimahi</i> (workforce), and <i>whānau</i>. <h3>Main findings</h3> Community-led pandemic responses within Māori communities included a drive for coordinated, localised and Indigenous leadership, and a need for urgent community-led action that interrupted the trajectory of Crown-determined processes. Successful health interventions leveraged local knowledge, <i>whakapapa</i> (genealogical) connections, and services through community-led action. This required levels of leadership and self-determination that cannot be replicated through Crown-led, Crown-determined responses to healthcare. This research provides an evidence-based framework consisting of 23 strategies to increase equitable health outcomes for Indigenous and other marginalised and/or isolated communities. <h3>Principal conclusions</h3> This research underscores the importance of enabling communities to lead through their own models of leadership and community development, recognising that they possess the intimate knowledge and understanding necessary to effectively respond to the specific needs of their people at <i>whānau</i>, <i>hāpori</i> (community), <i>hapū</i> and <i>iwi</i> (tribal) levels. Six generations of evidence show that the health system is not working equally for all parts of Aotearoa. It is time for an urgent response to those everyday health issues that have become an area of pandemic need. This research concluded to seriously consider the evidence that Māori communities, Māori providers and Māori clinicians led the way during the pandemic. As a nation, if we want to genuinely change the trajectory of Māori health outcomes and health outcomes for all, we need to utilise the evidence that is before us in terms of recognising the value added in having Indigenous, community-led solutions.