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Contact Details

Email
karyn.maclennan@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Pūkenga Matua / Senior Lecturer
Department
Department of Public Health (Dunedin)
Iwi affiliations
Taranaki, Ngā Mahanga
Qualifications
BSc MSc(distinction) PhD
Research summary
Māori health; raising rangatahi voices; nicotine-free; community outreach; optimal use of medicines
Teaching
  • PUBH741 Hauora Māori: Policy, Practice and Research
  • PUBH204 Hauora Māori: Challenges and Opportunities
  • ALM5: Youth Community Health - Alcohol and other drugs
Memberships
  • Board member, Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand
  • Member of ASPIRE Aotearoa - achieving a nicotine-free future
  • Member of Pharmacoepidemiology Research Network Core Academic Group
  • Exec Member of Te Poutama Māori - University of Otago Māori Academic Staff Collective

Research

I have a wide range of research interests centred around Māori health. Particularly, I am interested in partnering with community groups to collaborate on locally or nationally relevant research projects.

I have a strong interest in engaging with rangatahi to support raising their voices around vaping and other nicotine products, and in engaging young people and whānau in their spaces and places with interactive information about medicines and health to support confident discussions and informed, shared and positive decisions about health and well-being.

Current Projects:

  • Te Hao Hou: Rangatahi Māori experiences and perceptions of smoking and vaping (Co-PI)
  • Te Tupu o te Harakeke (NI)
  • Supporting antiretroviral therapy (ART) uptake and adherence for people living with HIV in Aotearoa New Zealand (NI)
  • Towards elimination of tuberculosis (TB) for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand (WHIRI TB) (NI)
  • Utilisation and safety of ondansetron during pregnancy: a national cohort study (NI)

Recent Projects

  • Te Mana o te Hā – interactive community engagement about smoking and vaping (NI)
  • The Science of Medicines and The Science of Medicines II: Whakatere Waka – interactive community engagement about the science of medicines (PI)
  • Empowered whānau, Equitable outcomes: striving for optimal delivery of mental health services for Māori (PI)

Publications

Donald, S., Sharples, K., Barson, D., Maclennan, K., Te Karu, L., Phone, D., van Asten, H., Stitely, M., & Parkin, L. (2026). Dispensing of antiemetics during pregnancy in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2005-2020. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 66(3), e70157. doi: 10.1111/ajo.70157 Journal - Research Article

Toki, D., Maclennan, K., Hill, P. C., & McAllister, S. (2026). The engagement of Indigenous populations in tuberculosis control with a focus on contact tracing: A scoping review. Ethnicity & Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2026.2655618 Journal - Research Article

Donald, S., Sharples, K., Barson, D., Maclennan, K., Te Karu, L., Phone, D., van Asten, H., Stitely, M., & Parkin, L. (2025). Ondansetron in the first trimester of pregnancy and risk of congenital malformations: A study using the New Zealand Pregnancy Cohort. Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety, 34, (pp. 530). [Abstract] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

McCarty, G., Maclennan, K., Derrett, S., Sullivan, T., Crengle, S., & Wyeth, E. (2025). Kia Whakatōmuri te Haere Whakanua: Applying an Indigenous qualitative method with rangatahi Māori and whānau. MAI Journal, 14(2), 251-264. doi: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2025.14.2.11 Journal - Research Article

Maclennan, K. (2023, August). Community conversations: The science of medicines: Whakatere Waka. Verbal presentation at the 33rd Queenstown Molecular Biology Meeting (QMB), Queenstown, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

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