Te Whanau Cadillac - A waka for change

Community action research is an effective mechanism to improve the relation ship between research and public health practice. The Alcohol and Public He alth Research Unit (APHRU) and its Maori research partner Whariki have deve loped practice in building partnerships with communities characterized by m utual respect of the different resources the partners bring to public healt h. A current APHRU/Whariki project focused on youth and drugs is a partners hip with six communities in rural and urban areas throughout New Zealand, m any predominantly Maori. This project illustrates a model that aims to brid ge the gap between research and practice, and to improve health and well-be ing through working with communities to increase their capacity to deal wit h alcohol and drug issues, and to introduce sustainable initiatives.