My Home is My Marae: Kaupapa Māori evaluation of an approach to injury prevention

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation's (ACC) ‘My Home is My Marae’ approach to injury prevention for whānau (families). SETTING: Over an 18 month period from November 2013 to June 2014, 14 ‘My Home is My Marae’ trials were conducted across the South Auckland and Far North regions of New Zealand. ACC engaged with local Māori providers of healthcare, education and social services to deliver the home safety intervention. PARTICIPANTS: Participants of this evaluation were a purposive sample of 14 staff from six provider organisations in South Auckland and the Far North regions of New Zealand. METHODS: Kaupapa Māori theory-based evaluation and appreciative inquiry methodologies underpinned the evaluation. Interview participants led discussions about strengths and weaknesses of the approach, and partnerships with ACC and other organisations. The evaluation was also supported by pre-existing information available in project documentation, and quantitative data collected by Māori providers. RESULTS: Five key critical success factors of ‘My Home is My Marae’ were found from interviews: mana tangata (reputation, respect and credibility); manākitanga (showing care for people); kānohi-ki-te-kānohi (face-to-face approach); capacity building for kaimahi, whānau and providers and ‘low or no cost’ solutions to hazards in the home. Data collected for the Far North area showed that 76% of the hazards identified could be resolved through ‘low or no cost’ solutions. Unfortunately, similar data were not available for South Auckland. CONCLUSIONS: Injury prevention or health promotion approaches that seek to engage with whānau and/or Māori communities would benefit from applying critical success factors of ‘My Home is My Marae’.