Proposing a Kaupapa Tuku Iho informed Māori model for practice to enhance cultural competence and foster kaimahi flourishing within health and social service providers

Kaupapa Tuku Iho are Māori values that have been used across various social institutions to inform culturally competent practices with those accessing services. This thesis set out to promote the use Kaupapa Tuku Iho to not only enhance cultural competence and culturally appropriate services, but to take a step further and explore factors that foster the flourishing of kaimahi (workers) who deliver those services. There is research that suggests kaimahi in health and social services are overworked, burdened by stressed and approaching a state of compassion fatigue. This is detrimental for those both delivering and accessing services. This study will explore factors that foster kaimahi flourishing and enable kaimahi to practice Kaupapa Tuku Iho, along with factors that stand as barriers to achieving flourishing and culturally competent practice. Furthermore, I have developed Ngā Kākano, which is a values-based model informed by Kaupapa Tuku Iho that aims to foster kaimahi flourishing and achieve culturally competent practice within health and social service providers. Ngā Kākano has been aligned to various psychological disciplines, including Community Psychology, Industrial-Organisational Psychology and Indigenous Psychology. Data concerning the exploration of barriers and enablers kaimahi experienced was collected using a Kaupapa Māori research approach consisting of focus group structures combined with Wānanga as a Kaupapa Māori research methodology. The data was analysed using processes of thematic analysis, where themes were identified and presented in association with the relevant stages of Ngā Kākano. The findings of this study saw the organisation stood as a prominent barrier to kaimahi practising Kaupapa Tuku Iho and achieving flourishing. This reflected a need for the organisation to make improvements to support kaimahi in all necessary forms that enable them to achieve flourishing as reflected in positive states of being. It became apparent that most kaimahi were able to achieve flourishing through the practice of Kaupapa Tuku Iho between, amongst and across all kaimahi throughout the organisation irrespective of direct support from the organisation