Kaupapa Māori approaches to creating a Māori health curriculum standard for optometry education

Clin Exp Optom. 2026 Mar 23:1-11. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2026.2642417. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

To close the gap in eye health outcomes, optometrists must acknowledge the link between clinical and cultural safety, recognise Indigenous sovereignty, and accept the ongoing harms of colonisation. The Optometry Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework requires optometry programmes to embed culturally safe and responsive eye care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in their curricula. However, the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand recognised a complementary Māori Health Curriculum Framework was needed. A Kaupapa Māori approach, drawing upon traditional cultural knowledge and embedding critical decolonising theories, was used to create the framework. Māori curriculum experts ensured the Framework privileged Indigenous knowledges, and a Māori Health Curriculum Framework Reference group, comprised of Māori and non-Māori optometry educators, guided the project. A common foundation for Māori health curricula in Australasian optometry programmes was created through an Indigenous-led, evidence-based process. The Framework incorporated nine key themes reflecting Māori worldviews and honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Optometry Māori Health Curriculum Framework is an example of active partnership between Māori and non-Māori to achieve an accreditation framework developed by Māori, with Māori, and for Māori through consultation, codesign, and collaboration.

PMID:41871446 | DOI:10.1080/08164622.2026.2642417