To positively impact the social determinants of their health, disabled people, including tāngata whaikaha Māori, must be able to contribute their voices to policy planning and development. However, they report often not being able to meaningfully engage in policymaking processes. Additionally, their advocacy recommendations may not be articulated in ways that policy planners can use. This gap contributes to inequities in health outcomes. 

 

In this research, we have partnered with disabled people, including tāngata whaikaha Māori, to better understand the contexts in which disabled people can access and maintain kāinga to better meet their needs and aspirations.  We have co-produced housing policy recommendations that a range of stakeholders within the housing system can use to positively influence accessible and inclusive housing policy and practice within Aotearoa New Zealand.

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Alongside, we have co-designed and piloted innovative methods to be used in other policy planning spaces. These tools can empower and enable disabled people to create and articulate knowledge that better addresses equitable policy and programme development within Aotearoa, New Zealand. 

Kāinga, housing and home was selected as a focus policy area as a scoping study highlighted that access to housing that meets their needs and aspirations is a specific health-related issue that dominates disabled peoples' concerns. They wanted to more easily find a house and create a home that enabled them and their whānau to thrive, not just survive. ​

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Where & How is the Research Being Done? 

 

This project was funded by a New Zealand Health Research Council Emerging Researcher First Grant [2021-2025].

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The research was hosted by the University of Otago Wellington (UOW) and conducted in collaboration with the University of Victoria Wellington (VUW), Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and Massey University, Wellington.

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Forty disabled people (The Co-production Team) partnered with researchers to co-produce knowledge across the study’s four phases.

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PHASE 1.

Phase 1 involved theory-building workshops and activities with The Co-production Team to explore critical contexts and resources for housing access. This phase was used to refine the research question for the rest of the project, and to develop initial programme theory about what might work best to support greater choice and control in housing.

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PHASE 2. 

In phase 2, qualitative survey responses were gathered from 134 disabled people and their families | whānau, including tāngata whaikaha Māori, across Aotearoa NZ.  An online qualitative survey asked people to share their experiences and expertise about the contexts and resources (i.e., individual, social and environmental) that supported them to have choice and control when accessing and maintaining housing that met their needs and aspirations. The Co-production Team were involved in the design and piloting of the survey, and the analysis of the responses.

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PHASE 3. 

In Phase 3  a co-produced realist literature review was conducted, with findings generated from disabled people who engaged with 22 published research papers and reports. The Co-production Team supported the data screening process, and also co-designed the process for interacting with the literature and reports, and for sharing their expertise and responses.

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PHASE 4. 

Phase 4 consolidated knowledge into actionable recommendations for inclusive housing policy, and innovative co-production methods. To do this, The Co-production Team guided the development and prioritisation of housing recommendations, and the plan for sharing knowledge co-produced from this project.

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Through this study we have co-produced:

• Policy recommendations about kāinga, housing and home. 

• Resources to improve meaningful involvement of disabled people in health-related policy development processes more generally. 

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An open-access research protocol is available here.​​​