Voyages Online

They’re young, they’re talented and they’re the future of Pacific health research. Voyages visited the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health to meet an emerging generation of Pacific researchers.

A symposium held at the university in May this year highlighted encouraging progress in developing a Pacific health research workforce. Associate Professor in Epidemiology, Robert Scragg, says the Obesity Prevention in Communities (OPIC) project has been a catalyst for recruiting and developing Pacific researchers.

In 2005, the Ministry of Health’s Pacific Health Branch bolstered these efforts with a scholarship and mentoring programme for Emerging Pacific Researchers.

“All that work is starting to come to fruition,” says Robert, who is also the acting Head of Pacific Health at the School. “Several of those people have completed their thesis and there is a group of people we hope will be the core of the School’s Pacific Health section into the future.”

Lana Perese Robert Scragg Amanda Dunlop John Sluyter Gavin Feamani Stephanie Erick-peleti

He says the right mentoring and support can make a big difference in a career that involves years of study and sacrifice.

“I guess I’m a champion of Pacific research. I grew up in Papua New Guinea and originally came here from Australia because Auckland offered a great opportunity for epidemiology research because of its cultural mix. I’m a cardiovascular epidemiologist and I could see this huge need to document problems of diabetes and hypertension in the Pacific community.

“I think it’s important to have Pacific people researching Pacific health issues because it means they can set the agenda. At the end of the OPIC project, my hope is that we’ll have a group of Pacific researchers who are fully trained and who have the skills to set their own research agenda.”

Dr David Schaaf (Tongan) personifies the progress the School has made. He is a senior health researcher at the School’s Pacific Health Research Centre with extensive experience in epidemiology and obesity prevention in adolescents. He has played a leading role in a number of large population health surveys involving Pacific communities, including OPIC, and is mentoring other Pacific researchers.

Another champion of Pacific researchers at the School is Associate Professor Peter Adams, the head of social and community health. He believes that when it comes to health research, culture matters.

“I work in the areas of addiction, violence and gambling and in each of those areas the cultural dimensions are huge and Pacific people are heavily affected. What we don’t have is a Pacific academic workforce to really begin to make sense of what is going on. That’s something we’re committed to supporting.”

Why is it so important that Pacific people research Pacific issues?

“It’s important because there’s been a long history of Europeans interpreting what’s happening in Pacific areas and importing European understandings and imposing them on another people who may have a different understanding. There are issues of ownership in research – owning the problem and owning the solution. When you’ve got a marginalised population whose world view is suppressed and their health statistics are so negative, it just reinforces a stereotype and encourages top down, paternalistic responses from policymakers,” says Peter Adams.

“It’s really critical that the way we interpret the problems and work towards solutions are grounded within the cultural premises that emerge from those communities. In Auckland, we have a large population of Pacific people. There’s no excuse for there not to be an emerging group of Pacific researchers who define things in their own terms.”

It hasn’t all been plain sailing for the School which still faces competition to retain its Pacific researchers once they are trained.

“If you’re educated in the Pacific community there are a lot of opportunities and research doesn’t pay as well as other sectors. So to stay in it, you really have to want to do it, that’s one of the things we look for in people we recruit. You’ve got to want to help your community,” says Robert.

“Pacific academics are highly employable,” adds Peter. “There’s always the danger they’ll be poached for well-paid administration roles. However, their real potential is in developing Pacific thinking and mentoring other Pacific people.”

That potential quickly becomes apparent after talking to the Pacific researchers currently working on Masters or PhD level research at the School.

Gavin Feamani (Tongan) is part of Robert Scragg’s team of OPIC researchers and is helping to find the association between obesity and quality of life of young Pacific Island adolescents.

“To be a good researcher requires a lot of commitment. The resources and help we’ve received from the university and the government are helping to build a good, close-knit group here.”

John Sluyter (Samoan) has just completed his Masters and as part of OPIC is validating measures of fatness in high school students.

“I started in medicine and now I’ve moved into the research side of things because I know there is a need for more Pacific researchers. The support of my supervisors, colleagues and family has been important. It’s created an enjoyable environment to work in. I’d like to keep doing Pacific research. That’s my future.”

PhD candidate Tasileta Teevale (Samoan) is another OPIC researcher looking at the attitudes and beliefs of Pacific adolescents and their families towards food, physical activity and body image. She came back to study after 15 years in the workforce.

“I took a break from my career to do some study, increase my qualifications and look after my kids,” she says. The applied nature of her research work appeals to her.

“A lot of what we’re learning will accrue back to the community. For example, we’re comparing the difference in attitudes and beliefs between Pacific households with obese adolescents and Pacific households with non-obese adolescents. So, there’s the potential for Pacific families to learn something from each other.”

One issue these researchers face is the additional pressure of representing a community.

Comments Peter: “Pacific students are doubly accountable. They’re accountable to the palangi academic world and they’re also accountable back to their homes and communities in all sorts of ways. That’s a big pressure on them that needs to be recognised.”

Robert says Pacific researchers also face financial pressures. “The Pacific community is more disadvantaged economically, so it’s harder to support yourself when you’re getting an education. The scholarships partly relieve that burden,” he says.

Despite these challenges researchers such as Stephanie Erick-Peleti (Niuean) strongly recommend health research as a career path for other Pacific people. “My advice to any Pacific person who is interested in research is come and see us. Many of us have faced the same challenges. We’ve all had our struggles and it’s not just about being an A plus student. To succeed you need commitment, good guidance and mentoring. But that help is here. I can say that. The support of a place like this is brilliant and because of that there’s a critical mass of Pacific researchers here.”

Stephanie came from a public health promotion background. She sees research as part of becoming a more effective advocate on Pacific health issues. She is studying smoking among Pacific youth and says she enjoys the community-based approach to research.

“There’s a difference when you’re working with your own people. It allows them to say freely what’s on their mind. It enables you to get to the answers a lot quicker. Issues such as consent, recruitment and trust are easier if Pacific people are talking to a familiar face. The information flows are faster. It is just good practice research.  At the end of every research project when I walk away it’s not just me feeling empowered with all that knowledge, it’s the community too. They haven’t just been observed. You’ve left them with something. They remember what they’ve contributed and know they’ve been part of it.”

Although it will be some years yet before the class of 2007 realise their full research potential, Peter Adams is encouraged by what the School has achieved.

“In Auckland we have the opportunity to develop a critical mass of Pacific academics with their own epistemologies and understandings. There’s nowhere else in the world where that’s going to happen in the near future. It’s been really enjoyable seeing how many young, bright Pacific academics are emerging.”

Ofa Dewes (Tongan/Tuvaluan) was one of the first recipients of a Pacific Health Branch scholarship from the Ministry of Health in 2005. She was also the School’s first Pacific Health Research Coordinator, a position created with funding from the Ministry. Ofa says the role is about advocating on behalf of Pacific researchers and brokering links between the researchers, the university, the community and research programmes underway.

“This programme is not just about handing out scholarships. It’s about being strategic and focusing on areas that will make a difference for Pacific health outcomes. It’s about finding the right people with the right skills and the right attitudes, because Pacific research is all about connecting with people and earning their trust so they will share their stories,” says Ofa.

“This programme has been excellent. It has really set me on my career path and now I’m on my way to being a Pacific health researcher. I’m going to get my PhD and I’m going to put it to work.”

This year Lana Perese (Samoan) has taken over managing the School’s Emerging Pacific Health Researcher Programme. She is also completing a PhD thesis on contemporary Samoan gambling.

“One of my main arguments is that cultural factors play an important role in the initiation and development of gambling and problem gambling,” says Lana. “Samoan gambling practices must be contextualised and understood within Samoan cultural values, practices and beliefs. Those understandings will be essential for the development of effective public health and treatment models within mainstream and Pacific-specific services,” she notes.

“That’s why this type of programme is important, because there’s a small pool of Pacific researchers in comparison to Pacific health needs. We need more people to do the work. But our capacity is growing and there’s a wide range of people here too – those who’ve come straight to university from school and those who’ve come later. Now it’s time for us to build our knowledge and skills, gather them together and start doing it for ourselves.”

Amanda Dunlop (Samoan), one of the latest recipients of a Ministry of Health Pacific Health Scholarship, is looking at how social marketing can be more effective in influencing behaviour change for target audiences, focusing on Pacific peoples.

A wide variety of other research projects are also underway at the School. Space prevents us covering them all, but here is a brief summary to give some idea of the breadth of work underway.

• Roannie Ng Shiu (Samoan) is studying Pacific health workforce development with the assistance of a Health Research Council PhD scholarship.
• Aumea Herman (Cook Island) is studying traffic-related injury prevention.
• Seine Taufa (Tongan) is studying cultural perceptions of teen pregnancies.
• Luisa Ape-Esera (Samoan/Ma¯ori) is studying mental health and violence in Pacific populations with the assistance of a Health Research Council MA scholarship.
• Dudley Gentles (Samoan) is studying the risk factors in Pacific cardiovascular diseases.
• Gerhard McDonald-Sundborn (Tongan) is studying risk factors in Pacific cardiovascular diseases.
• John Natua (Cook Island) is studying Cook Island men’s health.
• Malakai Ofanoa (Tongan) is studying health promotion and community development.

The Emerging Researcher Programme

The Emerging Researcher Programme aims to develop the capacity and capability of the Pacific research workforce by:

• addressing identified shortages of Pacific researchers and Pacific research leadership, and
• improving the quality of research product produced by the Pacific health research sector.

The programme enables:

• emerging Pacific researchers to work within a leading research team and with a group of other emerging researchers.
• the development of ‘on the job’ core research skills (for eg – writing proposals).
• the completion of quality research and the development of a ‘track record’ to establish a career pathway in research.
• access to intensive senior mentoring and support, and network building opportunities within the research sector.
• key research institutions and centres to develop Pacific capability, capacity and a better understanding of Pacific perspectives.
  

The Programme also provides the opportunity for research projects to be undertaken that fill information needs and align with priority health areas.

	AT A GLANCE – The School of Population Health, Tamaki Campus, Auckland University was established in 2003 to provide the knowledge and skills needed to improve the health of all New Zealanders investigates the major causes of ill-health and health inequalities in New Zealand develops and tests better means of preventing disease, disability and injury examines the provision of healthcare and explores ways in which health systems can be strengthened works with the health workforce to find ways of gaining better health outcomes for populations works with communities to enable them to develop resources and strategies to improve their health and well-being.

Feedback on this story (0)