Although in recent years there has been a continuation of progress made concerning the identification of socio-political and economic inequities, the implementation of sustainable changes within the structures that cause these inequities have been far less productive. In New Zealand, colonisation is the root cause of historical and contemporary inequities experienced by Māori that have led to worse quality of life and health outcome statistics compared to their European counterparts. Therefore, the conversation about how we can create and maintain equitable change for Māori populations is not only essential for the health outcomes of Māori now, but also for generations to come. What could be a better goal to strive for than the deconstruction and decolonisation of Eurocentric structures that continue to oppress Māori communities? As this sets an example for other countries around the world to take responsibility for their crimes against Indigenous communities and provide a form of redemption through implementing productive changes that redistribute power, wealth, and freedom back from where it was taken.

The decolonisation of oppressive Eurocentric structures in New Zealand will take time. This is the unfortunate reality of understanding the complexities of deep-rooted systems of oppression where every identified area of productive and equitable change will be met with maximum resistance by the establishment in order to maintain the status quo. Therefore, my research aims to contribute toward the movement forward for the future of equitable health outcomes for Māori. Research, as an example of a discipline that is dominated by colonial and Eurocentric ideologies and worldviews, is oppressive and exclusive of Indigenous populations to ensure the favouring of European populations. This has meant that within longitudinal research, Māori have been excluded as populations that would benefit from the insights that long-term and consistent research has provided European populations. The research I conducted as part of my summer research scholarship identifies areas within longitudinal research methods that could be more equitable both nationally and internationally and provides solutions from a Kaupapa Māori perspective. Kaupapa Māori theory refers to the ‘Māori way’ of conceptualising the world where Indigenous ideologies and knowledge are prioritised and utilised with the purpose of promoting equitable outcomes for Māori and other Indigenous populations. Longitudinal research methods and outcomes prioritise European populations through implementing Eurocentric dominant ideologies that are disproportionately reflective and inclusive of Māori populations.

The research I conducted specifically looked into the major trends of current longitudinal research practices both nationally and internationally and how these influence the health outcomes of Indigenous compared to European populations. After undergoing an extensive data extraction process, 31 articles were selected and the themes of (1) Indigenous knowledge systems; (2) Indigenous conceptualizations of life course; (3) dominant Western approaches and discourses within longitudinal research; and (4) the progression of equity within the collaboration of Western and Indigenous research. These outcomes were then compared with the Kaupapa Māori theory principles of (1) the right to monitor the crown; (2) the right to have a powerful voice; (3) the right to be counted; and (4) the right to name colonisation and racism.

The main outcome of this research was to present evidence that long-term and sustainable change at both a systematic and structural level is what’s required for equitable transformation to occur within not only research but broader contexts. Further, Māori and other Indigenous populations should be prioritised within contexts where the effects of colonisation are prominent. This redistribution of resources, services, and outcomes within longitudinal research outcomes will move the needle in an important and sustainable manner for the advocation of equitable Indigenous outcomes in New Zealand and Internationally.