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The global burden of osteoarthritis has major ramifications for societies and governments around the world. Despite a high rate of osteoarthritis, there is a low level of osteoarthritis-management knowledge and awareness in the Māori community. Numerous studies of Māori health have identified a need for new health communication approaches to osteoarthritis-management, in order to close the disconnection between Māori and non-Māori disease rates. Positive health management is the topic of the present thesis, as viewed through Māori eyes. It has been informed by the memories and aspirations of kaumātua who have lived through the challenges of living with osteoarthritis, but have emerged with qualities that enable them to enjoy older-age and to contribute to their own whānau, the Māori world, and wider society. These factors have been brought together into a Māori-centred toolkit, appropriate to modern health promotion, as they apply to Māori health perspectives of kaumātua in Hawke’s Bay. The present research was undertaken within the interpretivist paradigm using qualitative methods and Māori principles, aligned to a tīkanga (cultural principles) base. It is argued that Western science and a Māori-centered approach are relevant to research concerning osteoarthritis-management in the contemporary context, and reflect the realities of kaumātua with osteoarthritis, who live in both the Māori world, and wider society. The study drew upon the experiences, attitudes and beliefs of 20 kaumātua with osteoarthritis, employing interviews and group hui, to inform constructing an osteoarthritis-management toolkit, process and outcome appraisal. The research found that osteoarthritis-management for kaumātua, can be characterised by a two dimensional concept that incorporates a process dimension and an interpretive appraisal dimension. The process dimension is consistent with a values perspective. The appraisal dimension can be described in terms of complementary Māori specific ou

This thesis reports findings from a qualitative research project, investigating how New Zealand osteopath practitioners talk about rural Māori health. The primary research question asked, How can osteopath practitioners contribute to rural Māori well-being (with a specific focus on the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of osteopath practitioners practicing in New Zealand)? Secondary aims were to ascertain the sources of information used and accessibility of osteopathy health care, the prevalence of musculo-skeletal disorders among rural Māori, as well as identifying the tensions and factors associated with rural osteopathy practice. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews with eight osteopath practitioners working in Hawke’s Bay on the topic of rural Māori health, and subjected to detailed qualitative narrative analysis. This analysis identified critical patterning of particular topics, revealed by practitioners in their interviews, bringing to light themes. The research findings showed that osteopath practitioners viewed engagement and effective relationship building as vital to their clinical practice with rural Māori. They also exhibited a willingness to acknowledge culture and recognise the Treaty of Waitangi in their daily practice, but often sought clarity on how this could be achieved. The potential for collaboration between Māori health perspectives and the osteopathy scientific tradition was high as they were shown to share a number of philosophical positions.