The Experience and Impact of Digital Technologies on Indigenous Populations in New Zealand During the Covid-19 Pandemic and Cyclone Gabrielle Using the Qualitative Kaupapa Māori Methodology
Date
Authors
Wepa, Dianne
Thomas, Shiji
Rahman Jabin, Md Shafiqur
Supervisor
Item type
Journal article
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Publisher
JMIR Publications
Abstract
Background: Pandemics, such as COVID-19, and climate change–related catastrophic weather events are increasing, impacting social connectedness within communities by disrupting social cohesion, increasing loneliness, and affecting mental health and social well-being. Digital technology, in addition to being used for communication, education, and business transactions, also plays a vital role in maintaining a country’s health and well-being, as well as sustaining economic growth. Objective: This study aimed to explore the experiences of Māori kaumātua in using digital technology to meet their health needs within Ngāti Kahungunu, North Island, New Zealand, during the COVID-19 pandemic and Cyclone Gabrielle. Methods: This qualitative study employed the Kaupapa Māori methodology to understand the challenges, resilience, and approaches used by Māori to maintain connectedness and access essential services. An inductive approach to thematic analysis, as recommended by Braun and Clarke, was used to ensure a thorough and robust data analysis. The user characteristic was assessed on a semantic level using the information provided in the narrative text. Results: The findings highlight the role of digital technology in disaster management and underscore the urgent need to address digital disparities in support of vulnerable populations. In this study, 14 individuals were interviewed, comprising 71% (n=10) women and 29% (n=4) men. These participants fell into different age groups, with 9 participants being 65 years or older (older adults). Of the total participants, 43% (n=6) were limited users, 43% (n=6) comprised confident users, and the rest (n=2; 14%) were normal users. A total of 6 themes emerged from the interview data: social connectedness and resilience, digital literacy and access to information, barriers to telecommunications and digital technology, cultural appropriateness and psychological barriers, perceived threats of feeling insecure, and impact on mental health and emotional well-being. Conclusions: Vulnerable situations such as pandemics and extreme weather events can have tremendous effects on the lives of Indigenous people who live remotely. The study also focused on the actions that should be taken to mitigate these challenges and overcome difficult circumstances, such as the pandemic and the cyclone. The recommendations include a better health care system and improved coordination among care providers, user-friendly digital solutions, ensuring local funding and community services, establishing training processes for basic digital skills, and fostering leadership and partnerships with Indigenous New Zealanders.Description
Keywords
COVID-19, Cyclone Gabrielle, Māori kaumātua, Ngāti Kahungunu, community service, digital exclusion, digital solutions, disaster management, health inequalities, training and education, 4203 Health Services and Systems, 42 Health Sciences, Social Determinants of Health, Health Disparities and Racial or Ethnic Minority Health Research, Mental Health, Coronaviruses, Behavioral and Social Science, Basic Behavioral and Social Science, Aging, Coronaviruses Disparities and At-Risk Populations, Clinical Research, 3 Good Health and Well Being, 3202 Clinical sciences, 4003 Biomedical engineering, 4203 Health services and systems
Source
JMIR Aging 2025; 8: e73974
DOI
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Rights statement
© Dianne Wepa, Shiji Thomas, Md Shafiqur Rahman Jabin. Originally published in JMIR Aging (https://aging.jmir.org), 28.Oct.2025. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Aging, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://aging.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.