Email chelsea.harris@otago.ac.nz
PhD topic
Wāhine Māori experiences of and menopause.
Supervisors: Dr Christina McKerchar
Co-supervisors: Associate Professor Angela Curl, Dr Kelly Tikao, Dr Maira Patu and Dr Tania Huria
About
Chelsea (Ngāi Tahu) has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, and a Bachelor of Biomedical Science with Honours. She is carrying out her PhD in the Department of Public Health in Christchurch part time alongside her clinical work and training as a doctor in Urgent Care.
She has previously conducted research exploring wāhine Māori experiences of sexual healthcare (publications from this research pending as of October 2024). Her previous clinical work has primarily focused on women's health and general practice.
Research interests
Sexual and reproductive health, health literacy, health equity for Māori, Mana Wāhine.
Background
While menopause is increasingly present in medical and non-medical dialogues, those dialogues are usually coloured by a western biomedical lens. Literature from other countries indicate that the transition from being a woman of reproductive age, to being a woman past reproductive age, can be viewed and experienced differently by Indigenous peoples. Little is known about how wāhine Māori experience menopause. In te ao Māori (the Māori world), mid-to-later life wāhine hold increasing mana (status, respect) among their communities. How does this impact on the perspectives wāhine Māori have of menopause?
As research has shown, wāhine Māori experience inequitable sexual and reproductive health outcomes, and can have disempowering experiences when seeking support about sexual and reproductive health from health care practitioners. There is minimal literature exploring what kinds of experiences wāhine have when seeking health care for menopause issues.
Aim of the study
- To explore the experiences and perspectives that wāhine Māori in Te Waipunamu (the South Island) have of menopause
- To explore the experiences that wāhine Māori have when accessing health care services for reasons related to menopause.