Tamariki ora more than just weighing the baby
massey-university
Thu Apr 14 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Tamariki ora more than just weighing the baby
Thursday, 14 April 2011, 3:56 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tamariki ora more than just weighing the baby
Sharon Morunga has developed her nursing skills and practice over the years into a kaupapa Mäori approach of training health workers with a special interest in screening for family violence, which led to her master’s dissertation on this topic.
Today Ms Morunga graduates with a Master of Nursing at the University's Albany campus graduation ceremonies in, Takapuna, Auckland.
Tomorrow she will celebrate her achievement again, along with 26 other former students at a special ceremony to honour Mäori academic achievement at Massey. She will be supported by 30 of her whänau and friends.
Her master’s dissertation entitled, Barriers for Mäori Health Workers identifying family violence for Mäori women and their whänau, is the first study of its kind applying a kaupapa Mäori methodology. The research was conducted using a focus group of Mäori nurses. “One of the biggest health determinants impacting our children is family violence," she says. "We all have the potential for better health outcomes.”
Ms Morunga (Ngäpuhi) started working as a nurse aid at the age of 15. She now works as a clinical educator with the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society in Wellington, a position she has held for the past eight years. While working alongside Mäori nurses specialising in Tamariki Ora (well child) nursing, she noticed there were issues around preparation and training to screen effectively for family violence especially for nurses who had experienced family violence personally.
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“Tamariki ora is not just about weighing the baby, it's a highly complex nursing role in relation to family violence where nurses are required to screen for and offer women opportunities to disclose family violence,” she says.
Her role includes delivering training for registered nurses on family violence, and standards of practice she has developed as part of her master’s research. She says her main research finding was that Mäori health workers needed an opportunity to share their experiences of family violence within a cultural perspective before beginning to screen whänau for family violence.
The next ceremony to honour Mäori graduates takes place at the end of graduation week in Manawatu on May 13, followed by the equivalent ceremony for the Wellington campus on May 27. By then there will be 360 new Mäori graduates, including 12 with qualifications in whänau development, 11 Mäori language immersion teachers and six with doctoral degrees.
ENDS
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