Maori becoming peer educators in later life: Impact on identity, wellbeing and social connectedness.

OBJECTIVE The purpose is to examine ways that older Māori (New Zealand's Indigenous peoples) enhanced their ability to be peer educators and how this role impacted on their sense of purpose and wellbeing in later life. METHODS Kaupapa Māori and community-based participatory research principles guided the peer intervention involving 26 Māori kaumātua (elders 55-years-and-over) as peer educators (tuakana) for 121 other kaumātua (teina) facing transitions in later life. Each pair held up to three conversations; independent coders rated tuakana communication skills. We used mixed methods in a pre- and post-test, clustered staggered design. Participants completed baseline and post-intervention assessments of health and wellbeing consistent with Māori worldviews. Five focus groups involving 22 teina and one with 5 tuakana were held. RESULTS Tuakana communication skills were rated as high by teina and independent coders. Qualitative analysis supported the importance of Māori communication processes for the role. Further, three measures increased significantly from the baseline to the final period for tuakana accounting for about 15% of the variance in these variables: sense of purpose (p = .07), self-rated health (p = .05), and health-related quality of life (p = .04). The qualitative analysis supported the benefits of the peer-educator role for older Māori including enhanced sense of identity, wellbeing, and social connectedness. DISCUSSION Results demonstrated strong communication skills of kaumātua to be peer educators and the intervention's positive impacts on them. The study contributes to peer intervention research that may help to improve experiences of Indigenous and other elders.