Celebrating 30 years of health services research
Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora—The Health Services Research Centre recently celebrated thirty years since the centre was first established.
Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora was first established in 1993, with George Salmond in the role of Director. It undertakes the study of the health and disability needs of communities, and the organisation, planning, provision, use and effectiveness of personal and population-based health and disability services.
Past and present staff and supporters gathered at Rutherford House in April to mark the occasion, with speeches from previous Director Dr Jackie Cumming, from Dr Amohia Boulton, and from current Manutaki Takirua (Directors) Dr Lynne Russell and Dr Kirsten Smiler.
Both Dr Russell and Dr Smiler reflected on their journeys to becoming Manutaki Takiura at Te Hikuwai—journeys that span decades and generations.
“Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora has always been whānau oriented for me,” says Dr Russell.
“When I first started there in 2005 my children were 10, 13, 15, and 16—and now that 15-year-old is a dad to a 14-year-old, and that 10-year-old is Mum to her own 10-year-old.”
“I never knew tertiary education as an option growing up but made it my mission to change that for their generation and I have—I’m so proud of that.”
Dr Smiler also reflected on hitching her waka to the University’s mooring post 25 years ago as an undergraduate student.
“I often refer to myself as an accidental academic, but I think today I would refer to myself as an academic in plain sight”, she says.
“Many of us didn’t necessarily aspire to be part of academic communities…rather we saw this as a pathway to lift and support our families, aiga, whānau, and communities.”
Dr Smiler has also had two children since she started at the University, one as she embarked on her PhD and one as she started her post-doctoral studies.
These journeys are reflected in the vision of Te Hikuwai, which Dr Smiler says was embodied by the Enhancing Primary Care programme of work.
“This was a programme of research founded on the cumulative evidence the centre had been building over decades—that the health system and services embedded within were not meeting the needs and expectations of communities.”
“The programme aimed to bring an enhanced understanding primary health care, with the assumption that communities, families, whānau, aiga, hapū and iwi have much to give and guide our responses to health systems and service.”
“This reminds us that our roles in research, and our work in health systems and services, are in service to these people.”