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Suzanne Pitama imageHead of Faculty

MA(Auck) PhD(Otago) PGDipEdPsych(Massey) MNZPsS

Email suzanne.pitama@otago.ac.nz

MIHI (Māori/Indigenous Health Institute)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
University of Otago, Christchurch.
PO Box 4345,
Christchurch

About Suzanne Pitama (Ngāti Kahungunu)

Suzanne is a registered educational psychologist. She has extensive experience in Māori health research and health education.

Suzanne is focussed on addressing Māori health inequities through medical education, health research (including mental health and heart health) and through membership on appropriate committees and boards (including the HRC Board and Australian Medical Council).

Suzanne's PhD focused on the design, implementation and impact of indigenous health curricula within medical schools. Suzanne is the Faculty of Medicine Hauora Māori faculty representative and is a member of the MBChB curriculum committee and Chairs the Hauora Māori sub-committee.

Suzanne also contributes to the MIHI post-graduate short courses that support the professional development of health professionals in the Hui Process and Meihana Model.

Teaching

Undergraduate medical curriculum

Postgraduate short courses

  • MIHI RMO 301
  • MIHI 501 Clin Psych
  • MIHI 601 Clin Psych
  • MIHI 501 RANZCOG
  • MIHI 501 Health Professionals

Research interests

  • Hauora Māori – Māori Health
  • Effects of Adoption Practices on Mental Health
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Severe Behaviour in childhood and adolescence
  • MoDCONZ – Modelling disease and cancer outcomes in New Zealand

Professional activities

  • Educational Psychologist
  • Suzanne Pitama is the Haura Māori representative on the Faculty of Medicine Curriculum Committee

Publications

Petras, T., Woollard, R., Pitama, S., Klamen, D., Anawati, A., Mendes, R. A., … Patrício, M. (2025). ASPIRE to excellence: Making health systems socially accountable. Medical Teacher. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2025.2582647 Journal - Research Article

Patu, M., Kerdemelidis, M., Summers, N., Monk, N. J., Philpott, A., Beard, A., Geddes, J., … Mark, S., & Pitama, S. (2025). Introducing the Hauora Māori Equity Toolkit for Specialist Healthcare Services (HMET-SHS). New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 138(1622), 80-93. doi: 10.26635/6965.6942 Journal - Research Other

Woollard, R., Petras, T., Boelen, C., Klamen, D., Pitama, S., & Anawati, A. (2025, August). Work that really matters: Making social accountability live in your school. Workshop presentation at the International Association for Health Professions Education (AMEE) Annual Conference, Barcelona, Spain. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Keelan, K., Pitama, S., Wilkinson, T., & Lacey, C. (2025). You've got to have faith in the carers that are looking after you: Investigation into the care experiences of older Māori in aged residential care, community and whānau settings in New Zealand. First Nations Health & Wellbeing: The Lowitja Journal, 3. doi: 10.1016/j.fnhli.2025.100044 Journal - Research Article

Meredith, C., Haitana, T., McKerchar, C., & Pitama, S. (2025). “They were my anchors” Māori with perinatal mental illness identify culturally safe and clinically excellent health care. International Journal for Equity in Health, 24, 226. doi: 10.1186/s12939-025-02592-2 Journal - Research Article

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