Rate My Professor Michelle Lambert

Michelle Lambert serves as a Research Fellow (Māori Health) in the Ngāi Tahu Māori Health Research Unit within the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. A member of Ngāti Kahungunu, she holds qualifications including a BCom, DipGradPsyc, PgDipClinHealthPsyc, and MSc(Hons). Lambert possesses extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative data assessment, as well as the design and implementation of interventions aimed at improving health outcomes for Māori. Her work is grounded in kaupapa Māori frameworks, reflecting her commitment to culturally appropriate health research.

Lambert's primary research interests lie in Māori health and wellbeing, with a focus on health services improvement, intervention development, and qualitative studies to enhance primary care, injury rehabilitation, and other health services for Māori patients. She has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications addressing equity in healthcare, ethnicity-related health inequities, and culturally tailored interventions. Key publications include: Puloka et al. (2024) "Polokalama Fekumi ki he Kanisā 'o e Halanga-me'atokoní—Ko e vakai 'a e Tongá: Tongan New Zealanders' views on how to ensure the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme works well for the Tongan community" in the New Zealand Medical Journal; Gustafson et al. (2024) "Adapting an equity-focused implementation process framework with a focus on ethnic health inequities in the Aotearoa New Zealand context" in the International Journal for Equity in Health; Gustafson et al. (2023) "A scoping review of equity-focused implementation theories, models and frameworks in healthcare and their application in addressing ethnicity-related health inequities" in Implementation Science; Gustafson et al. (2023) "Supporting implementation of interventions to address ethnicity-related health inequities: Frameworks, facilitators and barriers – a scoping review protocol" in BMJ Open; and Gustafson et al. (2022) "Supporting equity in implementation in Aotearoa New Zealand" in Proceedings of the 7th Pharmacoepidemiology Research Network Symposium. Earlier contributions encompass studies on health literacy interventions for cardiovascular disease medications among Indigenous peoples (Crengle et al., 2018, BMJ Open), predictors of work participation for Māori post-injury (Wyeth et al., 2018), impacts of injury for Māori (Lambert et al., 2021), and health professionals' understandings of health literacy (Lambert et al., 2014). Through these efforts, Lambert advances knowledge on reducing health inequities for Māori and other priority populations.