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In this paper, whānau Māori highlight how a Kaupapa Māori-centred intervention (the Harti Hauora Tamariki tool, hereafter Harti tool) has improved interactions with health services. The Harti tool is undergoing a randomised control trial (RCT) at Waikato Hospital in New Zealand. As part of the RCT, the authors engaged in a series of qualitative interviews with whānau members of tamariki Māori (children aged 0–5 years) admitted to Waikato Hospital's paediatric ward. Whānau who met at least one criteria for New Zealand's domains of deprivation were included. Using a Kaupapa Māori approach to the study, participants shared their views on barriers and facilitators to accessing health resources and primary care services. The interviews conducted highlight how the Harti tool, when administered in a culturally appropriate and respectful manner that prioritised relationship-building, enabled better connection to healthcare services. Prevalent in our analysis were connections to wider determinants of health and ways to reduce existing health inequities. To conclude the paper, how the Harti tool has enhanced feelings of being in control of health, with the potential to reduce the likelihood of a hospital readmission, is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critically reflecting on researcher–community partnerships is a key component in implementing chronic condition interventions in Indigenous communities. This paper draws on the results and learnings from a process evaluation that measures how well two research–community partnerships have followed the He Pikinga Waiora (HPW) Implementation Framework while co-designing chronic condition interventions in primary care. The HPW framework is centred on Indigenous self-determination and knowledge surrounded by community engagement, cultural centredness, systems thinking and integrated knowledge translation. The evaluation included in-depth interviews and online surveys with 10 team members. The findings demonstrate that the HPW framework was followed well, with strengths particularly in community engagement and relationship building. Areas for improvement included systems thinking and integrated knowledge translation to support sustainability of the interventions. The need for partnerships to use process evaluation results to support critical reflection is asserted, which helps build strong trust and synergy, power sharing and effective and sustainable implementation practices. It is concluded that the HPW framework is well suited to evaluating implementation of health interventions in primary care as it assists in the facilitation of better collaboration between researchers and Indigenous communities, and encourages the implementation team to reflect on power and privilege. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]