Rate My Professor Kelly Tikao

Dr Kelly Tikao (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu) is a Senior Lecturer (Pūkeka Matua) in the Centre for Postgraduate Nursing Studies and the Māori Indigenous Health Institute at the University of Otago, Christchurch, where she joined in November 2021. A registered nurse with over 20 years of experience in diverse health settings, including district health boards in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, and Christchurch, she has worked in medical, surgical, neurology, public health, and mental health inpatient roles, as well as in primary hauora Māori community organisations. Tikao holds a PhD, Master of Science Communication (University of Otago, 2013), BA in Māori, and Certificate in Te Reo. She convenes a hauora Māori paper in the Department of Nursing, teaches postgraduate nursing courses on consultation, communication, and research, and supports teaching for fourth- to sixth-year medical students at the Christchurch campus. Additionally, she serves as Māori Research Lead (Kairakahau Matua Māori) at the Donald Beasley Institute, a role she has held part-time for about 18 years, applying kaupapa Māori methodologies to research. She is also a part-time researcher and Adjunct Fellow in the Health Sciences Department at the University of Canterbury on the MindKiwi project.

Tikao's research employs kaupapa Māori frameworks to explore advocacy and mana motuhake for disabled Māori (hauā), youth mental health with whānau, and the rejuvenation of Ngāi Tahu customary birthing knowledge and practices, including connections to native Hawaiian maternity traditions. Her doctoral and master's research focused on Kāi Tahu birthing practices. Key publications include Tikao (2026), 'Cradling the renaissance of Ngāi Tahu customary maternity knowledge through ancient lullabies in Aotearoa New Zealand', in Traditional Midwives: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (Routledge); Theobald et al. (2026), 'Efficacy of oral micronutrients and online mindfulness for emotional dysregulation in children aged 6–10 (The M&M Trial)', Nutritional Psychiatry; Wilson, Wilkinson, and Tikao (2022), 'Health professional perspectives on translation of cultural safety concepts into practice', Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences; and Hale et al. (2018), 'Organisational views on health care access for hauā (disabled) Māori in Murihiku (Southland), Aotearoa/New Zealand', New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy. In 2025, she received the Fulbright-Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Scholar Award to conduct research at the University of Hawai'i West O'ahu on customary native Hawaiian maternity practices. Tikao participates in Te Kei Māori Academic Development Programme and Te Poutama Māori support for Māori academics, contributing to Māori health education and research innovation.