Acceptability and feasibility of a cognitive-behavioural intervention for pain management before total knee arthroplasty: a pilot trial.

Background: Although psychological factors predict the development of persistent pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), psychological interventions to prevent persistent pain are under-explored. This pilot trial evaluated the acceptability and feasibility of a cognitive-behavioural intervention targeting risk factors for post-surgical pain among patients scheduled for TKA (UTN: U1111-1243-1067/ACTRN12621001095853).

Methods: Patients with elevated expectations of post-surgical pain and anxiety were recruited from TKA waiting lists.

Ngā Wai Rerekē: the water streams of difference.

Māori-centred research reflects a partnership between Māori and non-Māori researchers, working together on projects designed to benefit whānau Māori (Māori families). Such cross-cultural partnerships are challenging, particularly when embedded within Western-centred academic environments. The goal of our project was to review publications discussing how Māori-centred research had been or should be undertaken to identify ways such research partnerships could be better supported in academia.

Māori healthcare professionals' perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy: a qualitative study.

Aim: Psychedelic-assisted therapies are gaining interest as an innovative treatment for problems with mental health and addictions, and there are several clinical trials in this area currently being conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, many stakeholder groups hold concerns about cultural acceptability and safety. While psychedelic substances have a long history overseas in various Indigenous populations for spiritual and ritualistic purposes, their traditional use with Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand is unclear.

A Cross-Sectional Survey Investigating Māori and Non-Māori Cancer Patients' Views on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand.

People with cancer experience higher rates of psychological dysfunction than the general population, with extreme inequity among indigenous people. Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a reemerging area with promising evidence as a treatment for mental health difficulties. The current study aimed to investigate the perceptions of PAT in indigenous (Māori) and non-indigenous cancer patients in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Effect of MDMA-assisted therapy on mood and anxiety symptoms in advanced-stage cancer (EMMAC): study protocol for a double-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Symptoms of anxiety and depression are common in patients with terminal illness and multiple challenges exist with timely and effective care in this population. Several centres have reported that one dose of the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin, combined with therapeutic support, improves these symptoms for up to 6 months in this patient group. Drawing upon related therapeutic mechanisms, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy may have the potential to achieve similar, positive mental health outcomes in this group.

The lived experience of chronic pain for Māori: how can this inform service delivery and clinical practice? A systematic review and qualitative synthesis.

Aim: To synthesise the literature describing experiences of chronic pain and pain management for Māori, and to understand how this experience could inform service delivery and clinical practice.

Method: We systematically searched for qualitative research on Māori chronic pain experiences (Scopus, Medline, APA PsycINFO, NZ Research, Research Square). Data extracted were coded and synthesised using thematic analysis.

PAM trial protocol: a randomised feasibility study of psychedelic microdosing-assisted meaning-centred psychotherapy in advanced stage cancer patients.

Background: An advanced cancer diagnosis can be associated with a significant profile of distress. Psychedelic compounds have shown clinically significant effects in the treatment of psychological distress in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Given the challenges of delivering timely and effective intervention in the advanced cancer context, it is possible that an alternative, more pragmatic, approach lies in psychedelic 'microdosing'.

The perceptions of cancer health-care practitioners in New Zealand and the USA toward psychedelic-assisted therapy with cancer patients: A cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: A resurgence of research investigating the administration of psychedelic compounds alongside psychotherapy suggests that this treatment is a promising intervention for anxiety, depression, and existential distress in people with cancer. However, psychedelic treatment that induces a mind-altering experience potentially poses barriers to vulnerable cancer patients, and health-care practitioners may have concerns about referring their patients to trials investigating this approach. The aim of the current study was to investigate the perceptions of cancer health-care practitioners based in New Zealand and the USA related to psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Illness perceptions and diabetes self-care behaviours in Māori and New Zealand Europeans with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study.

Aims: This study investigated differences in illness perceptions and self-care behaviours between Māori and New Zealand (NZ) Europeans with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and how these perceptions were related to clinical outcomes.

Methods: Participants were 85 Māori and 85 NZ European adults, recruited from outpatient clinics, who completed a cross-sectional questionnaire on illness perceptions and self-care behaviours. Clinical data, including HbA1c, retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy, were collected from medical records.

Well-being app to support young people during the COVID-19 pandemic: randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of 'Whitu: seven ways in seven days', a well-being application (app) for young people.

Design: Prospective randomised controlled trial of Whitu against waitlist control, with 45 participants in each arm.

Participants: 90 New Zealand young people aged 16-30 recruited via a social media advertising campaign.

Pilot study of a well-being app to support New Zealand young people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Well-being apps represent a promising and scalable approach for improving mental health outcomes in youth, especially during a global pandemic when access to face-to-face interventions may be limited. (meaning 7 in the New Zealand Māori language Te Reo) is a newly developed well-being app with 7 modules that support young people to learn and practice evidence-based coping skills, including relaxation, mindfulness, self-compassion, and goal-setting.

Objective: During this pilot, we explored the acceptability, usability, and preliminary efficacy of before refining the app for a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Coping Skills Mobile App to Support the Emotional Well-Being of Young People During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to increase anxiety and distress in young people worldwide. It is important to prioritize mental health during crisis events to mitigate the negative and often long-term effects of the crises on young people, families, and society. Mental health and well-being apps represent a scalable approach for improving psychological outcomes in young people and have potential to improve the equity of service access.

Differences in patients' perceptions of Schizophrenia between Māori and New Zealand Europeans.

Objective: Māori (the Indigenous people of New Zealand) are disproportionately affected by mental illness and experience significantly poorer mental health compared to New Zealand Europeans. It is important to understand cultural differences in patients' ideas about mental illness in treatment settings. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in illness perceptions between Māori and New Zealand Europeans diagnosed with schizophrenia.