Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau: te ara whakamua - towards the establishment of construct validity

Abstract

Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau: te ara whakamua, is about the development of a tool to measure psychological wellbeing among Māori. Why is it relevant? Because a quick look at the June 2002 edition of New Zealand’s Journal of Psychology will show you that the wellbeing measures being used in this country are not responsive to the needs of Māori, are not based on Māori concepts or Constructs, do not facilitate Māori participation in te ao Māori and do not provide pathways through which Māori can develop a positive Māori identity. It is highly unlikely that the tools which psychologists use to measure wellbeing among Māori will help Māori to experience whānau ora and that, as we all know, is the paramount health objective for Māori (Ministry of Health, 2002). In this regard, it would seem that the powers that be in psychology are failing to meet their Treaty obligations to Māori. Therefore, Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau simply aims to assist change. This presentation will briefly describe the context of the development of this measure, the methodologies used to develop this tool, the outcomes of a small pilot-study, and current challenges and future directions for Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau.