21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference, 10-13 April 2026: Read More – WONCA 2026 | Home
Dr Pipi Barton has been recognised for research transforming Māori nursing education in rural Northland, taking home the Best Abstract Award for Rural WONCA 2026.
From more than 350 abstracts submitted, her winning abstract, Te Ara Whakamua: Delivering a Bachelor of Nursing Māori Programme in Rural Northland, Aotearoa New Zealand, demonstrates how community-designed, Indigenous-led education can strengthen rural health workforces and improve outcomes for whānau.
“I feel incredibly honoured… I was quite blown away by it,” Barton says. “Receiving this award is a recognition of my lived experience as a Māori nurse, and the experiences of my whānau.”
The Best Abstract Award celebrates work embodying the conference theme: Whānau Ora: Integrating Mātauranga Māori and Indigenous knowledge with rural health for a thriving future.
Abstracts were independently reviewed by multiple experts to reduce bias, with panel members disclosing conflicts of interest. Close scores prompted collaborative discussion to ensure fairness.
Dr Jo Scott-Jones, Chair of the Rural WONCA 2026 Scientific Committee noted, “This year’s selection process was both rigorous and deeply aligned with our conference kaupapa. Dr Barton’s abstract stood out for its authentic integration of mātauranga Māori, its academic strength, and its clear potential to make a meaningful impact on rural health — not just in Aotearoa, but internationally.”
“It reflects exactly what Rural WONCA 2026 is about – solutions that are locally led, culturally informed, and capable of driving real change in rural health outcomes.”
For more than 40 years, Māori representation in nursing has remained largely unchanged – a reality at the centre of Barton’s research.
Despite Māori comprising 17% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population, only around 10% of the nursing workforce identifies as Māori – a proportion that has remained largely unchanged for decades (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2024).
Barton’s PhD explored the structural barriers limiting Māori participation in nursing, including systemic inequities embedded across education and health systems.
That research has informed the development of a kaupapa Māori nursing programme in Te Tai Tokerau, designed in partnership with iwi, hapū and community providers to address longstanding gaps in Māori representation in nursing.
“Our communities have been telling us for years what works and what doesn’t,” Barton explains. “This programme is designed by whānau, for whānau. Students don’t just learn nursing, they reconnect with their whakapapa, their whanaungatanga, and their role in the community.”
The programme is delivered rurally, enabling students to stay close to home while gaining qualifications. Through immersive learning and wānanga-based teaching, students develop clinical skills alongside cultural and community knowledge.
The results are already measurable. The programme has achieved a 96.3% first-year retention rate, significantly higher than national Māori nursing trends, while continuing to grow its student base.
“Rural health workforce solutions can be co-designed with Indigenous communities. We’re an example of that.”
At the core of Barton’s work is a challenge to conventional approaches: “Equity can’t be achieved by using the same system that created the inequity.”
Her research highlights how structural inequities, including systemic racism, continue to shape access to education and workforce pathways.
The programme centres Mātauranga Māori as both valid and essential to addressing rural health inequities. Set in rural Northland, it reflects place-based learning, whakapapa, and strong community connection. “We have to think of creative and innovative ways to make a difference – despite the systems that exist” Barton says.
Developed over eight years alongside iwi, hapū and local providers, the programme responds directly to what communities have been calling for: a workforce trained within, and for, their own environments.
“We are creating nurses who are not only clinically capable but also culturally competent and grounded in their communities. This addresses workforce shortages while supporting whānau health and wellbeing.”
For Barton, the goal is clear – not just to train nurses, but to grow a workforce that returns home.
“Hoki atu ki tō whānau, hoki atu ki tō hāpori – return to your people.”
“Our communities are desperate for our Māori nurses.”
Barton will present her findings at Rural WONCA 2026 in Wellington, sharing insights into programme design, outcomes, and lessons learned. Her work exemplifies how Indigenous knowledge and community engagement can reshape rural health education, providing a model for other regions across Aotearoa.
For delegates, her presentation is more than an abstract: it’s a call to action. Indigenous-led, community-grounded education can deliver measurable results for rural health outcomes.
To learn more about Dr Barton’s programme and the full Rural WONCA 2026 abstract listings, visit the conference website.
