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Dr Jackie Robinson writes:
After a 12 month break due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are so pleased to finally be back on track with phase 2 of the Whakahekenga Project. Funded by the Health Research Council, our project is exploring end of life service use for people living in communities experiencing financial deprivation. Phase 1 is almost completed and we are in the final stages of looking at service utilisation in the last year of life using data provided by Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty and Te Toka Tumai Auckland as well as Primary Health Organisations and Hospices.
We were sorry to lose our community partner Rakau Tautoko earlier this year as they reprioritised their work to focus on the impact of COVID-19 on their community. We wish them well in their work with the Maungakiekie-Tamaki community in Auckland. Over the past few months we have been meeting with Auckland City Mission Team who have agreed to be a partner in this project. This has enabled us to incorporate people who are homeless or vulnerably housed, adding a unique perspective to the research.
In Auckland we will be running focus groups initially with the Auckland City Mission team. We will then connect with their services users to explore the impact of homelessness at the end of life. A focus on the strengths of each community will remain at the forefront of the phase 2 work.
As we gain momentum with this project, I look forward to providing regular updates. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like more information about the project: j.robinson@auckland.ac.nz
Te Arai Research Group 