Steadfast is the rock: Primary health care Māori nurse leaders discuss tensions, resistance, and their contributions to prioritise communities and whānau during COVID-19  

Abstract
Historical experience from previous pandemics, together with knowledge of significant and perpetuating health inequities, led to predictions that Māori and Pacific peoples would experience greater morbidity and be hardest hit economically. Steadfast is the rock describes the mahi (work and actions) of three Māori nurse leaders through the first COVID-19 lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2020. Through kōrero (discussion and dialogue), this article draws on their experiences of working in a large mainstream primary health entity working across the Northland region of Aotearoa as they navigated their way within and across health sector providers and organisations to protect the health and wellbeing of whānau (families). They used their knowledge of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge and tradition), to ensure Māori whānau were prioritised in the pandemic response in the region. They faced adversity and resistance in a fragmented system where competition and power interfered with collaborative practices. Throughout, they remained courageous and resilient, holding true to mātauranga Māori as nurses and Māori wāhine (women) to promote equity. Yet much of their work went unnoticed and unacknowledged. Māori nurse leaders hold a necessary role in providing an equityfocused response across mainstream and Māori health providers, through their abilities to maintain relationships, find mutually agreeable strategies, and work collaboratively across the health sector. 

Te Reo Māori translation 

Ngā ariā matua 
Nā ngā wheako o ngā urutā o tau kē, nā te mātauranga hoki mō ngā korenga e ōrite o ngā āhuatanga hauora nui, e haere tonu nei kāore he mutunga, kua ara ake ngā matapae tērā pea ka kaha ake te mate rawa me te pā nui hoki o ngā raru hauora ki ngā iwi Māori me ngā iwi o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Ko tā tēnei puka Steadfast is the rock he whakaahua i ngā mahi me ngā kōkiri a ētahi kaihautū tapuhi Māori i roto i te katinga COVID-19 tuatahi i Aotearoa i te tau 2020. Nā te kōrero, ka kitea ngā wheako o ēnei tapuhi i a rātou e mahi ana mō tētahi hinonga hauora tuatahi rahi puta noa i te Tai Tokerau i Aotearoa, i a rātou e kōpikopiko nei i roto i te rāngai hauora ki te tiaki i te hauora me te toiora o ō reira whānau. I tahuri rātou ki te mātauranga Māori, kia tōia ngā urupare ki te urutā i te rohe ki runga i ngā whānau Māori. I kitea e ratou te uaua me te ātete i tētahi pūnaha kōhao rau, ko ōna tohu ko te whakataetae me te aruaru hē i te mana. I te roanga atu o ngā marama i tū māia tonu rātou, i tū pakari, me te piripono anō ki ngā kaupapa taketake o te tapuhi tūturu, hei wāhine Māori hoki, kia whiwhi painga te katoa. Ahakoa, kāore i āta kitea, kāore i mihia te nuinga o ā rātou mahi. He tūranga taketake tō te kaihautū tapuhi Māori, kia whiwhi painga te katoa i roto i ngā kaituku hauora auraki, me ngā kaituku Māori, nā tō rātou kaha ki te whakapakari hononga, ki te kimi rautaki haratau ki ngā taha katoa, ki te pāhekoheko hoki puta noa i te rāngai hauora katoa. 

Keywords / Ngā kupu matua
COVID-19; dialogue / whakawhiti kōrero; Indigenous / Iwi taketake; inequities / ngā korenga e ōrite; Māori; nursing leadership / kaihautū tapuhi; pandemic / mate urutā; primary health care / taurimatanga hauora tuatahi 

For Māori terms, please see the Nursing Praxis Te Reo Glossary