Grant story – Wāhi Kōrero · 15 May 2026

Many people delay or avoid healthcare even when they need it. Sometimes the barrier is cost, time, or transport. Sometimes it is something even harder to measure: shame, whakamā, fear of judgement, or a past experience that made seeking help feel unsafe.

With a $10,000 grant from the Palmerston North Medical Research Foundation in 2022, alongside funding from the Health Research Council, Massey University’s Wāhi Kōrero team developed the project ‘I felt too whakamā to go to the doctor.’

Wāhi Kōrero is an online story-sharing platform designed to gather health experiences that are often missing from surveys, service evaluations, and research. The platform was built to be anonymous, accessible, and culturally safe, with guidance from an advisory group that included health professionals, Māori and Pacific leaders, disability advocates, youth health experts, mental health and addiction leaders, service user advocates, and LGBTQIA+ advocates.

The project invited people from across Aotearoa to share stories about times when shame, embarrassment, or whakamā stopped them from seeking healthcare. We gathered 414 stories. Those stories have contributed to academic journal articles, conference presentations, and media articles. Most importantly, they show that unmet health need can be driven by how people are treated and whether they feel respected and heard. This research gives health professionals, service designers, and policymakers better evidence for creating health services that address service users’ needs, a vital step to improve health outcomes.

L to R: Professor Chrissy Severinsen, Dr Mary Breheny, Dr Angelique Reweti