Collaboration in Contraception Research: Designing and Researching Together as Wāhine Māori

This paper describes the collaborative methodology of the Wāhine Māori & Contraception research project, a study grounded in Kaupapa Māori (Māori-centred approach) and Mana Wahine (authority and power of Māori women) inquiry and designed with wāhine Māori (Māori women) researchers, advisors and community members. Our approach centred Māori-led decision-making and relational accountability to guide all stages of the project. Members of the Rōpū Wahine (women’s group) conducted interviews and focus groups with 91 wāhine Māori and eight tāne Māori (Māori men), using storytelling processes that supported participants to share their experiences. We focus here on how this methodology was developed and enacted, highlighting practical processes, collective sense-making and ethical commitments. Brief insights show how the methodology enabled wāhine Māori to articulate barriers to contraception and assert reproductive autonomy. This methodology demonstrated the potential of Indigenous-led research for strengthening cultural safety, equity and self-determination in reproductive well-being.