When Nicola Stanton (Ngā Rauru) heard she was to receive a $10,000 scholarship to support her health studies it was “massive” for the Taranaki-based student who has her heart set on changing health outcomes for Māori.
Nicola is one of three Braemar Charitable Trust 2024 Health Scholarship recipients and financing her way through a degree in health at the University of Waikato was never going to be easy.
Where there’s a passion, there is a way. Tertiary education is a theme in the Waitara-based Stanton whānau, where Nicola is one of five siblings.
“The scholarship has given me independence so I can focus more on my studies and less on part-time jobs. I come from a big family and financially it hasn't always been easy on my parents. Four of us have gone through university and there’s still one more to come,” she says.
Nicola recently completed her second year at Waikato University, studying a Bachelor of Health, majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Human Resource Management.
The scholarship came with a four-week work placement which has allowed her to engage with Braemar Charitable Trust Manager Paula Baker and the Trust’s community partners. This liaison and their support has enabled Nicola to take on a challenging research project designed to have a far-ranging impact on Māori cardiac health.
From mid-January 2025, Nicola will launch into a nine-week research project funded by Braemar Charitable Trust and Pūtahi Manawa Healthy Hearts for Aotearoa New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence. She will work with Raglan-based Te Toi Ora ki Whaingaroa, an organisation with a kaupapa to deliver better health equity outcomes, under the supervision of kaupapa Māori researcher and Pūtahi Manawa Co-director Karen Brewer, and heart specialist, Dr Madhav Menon, who is credentialed to Braemar Hospital.
The project, Enhancing Cardiac Care Through Kaupapa Māori Practices: A Review of Te Toi Ora ki Whaingaroa services will initially evaluate the effectiveness of current cardiac services at Te Toi Ora, focusing on patient outcomes, the benefits of using whānau-centred care and equity approaches.
“This is quite a big project to be taking on, but because of the connections I have made through Braemar Charitable Trust, I've been able to put the knowledge I have gained through my degree to use at an earlier stage of my study journey.”
Nicola has been working on a literature review where she is researching how indigenous health providers and culturally grounded practices influence cardiac care outcomes for indigenous populations. This will form the basis of her research project.
At Te Toi Ora, she will work alongside Manager, Michael Edmonds and Community Nurse, Maine Tito, gaining practical experience at community outreach clinics and evaluating the organisation’s strategic plans and service delivery.
“The outcome of this project will promote indigenous health and enhance more positive outcomes for patients, particularly Māori, with a focus on holistic approaches through a multifaceted framework for health.”
Nine weeks is a very short time in the world of research, but Nicola has plans to continue the journey – producing a research proposal at the end of her nine-week summer project, to seek out opportunities to continue her research with Te Toi Ora in the future.
“This project is all about helping people and helping our community. I am surrounded by people who are passionate, and they are motivating me through this, to ensure I get the most out of my degree,” says Nicola.
“I'm most grateful for all these connections I've made, and fingers crossed I will make them all proud.”
