Waipapa Taumata Rau from the University of Auckland, has partnered with pacific researchers to investigate mental health wellbeing in Pacific nations operating under the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis.
Project co-lead Sir Colin Dr.Tukuitoga says,“Pacific people have managed their wellbeing and mental health on their own or with the help of their family, churches or the village.”
The Associate Dean of Pacific and Professor of Public Health in the faculty of Medical and Health Sciences adds, “However, for many years, those of us who work in health have recognised that we don’t know well enough the extent and nature of mental health disorders around the region. We are working to change that.”
Researchers are concerned by the limited evidence and anecdotes to date. With data suggesting a rise in the rates of mental health distress, disorders and suicides in the region.
Co-leader Associate Professor Judith McCool credits the Pacific Island community for their resilience and the collective strength as they dealt with Covid-19 and the climate crisis, but these complex and growing issues will take a toll on the mental distresses amongst Pacific communities.
New Zealand project manager Nalei Tuafa asserts the research will go towards building a better knowledge base from which we can then advocate for better services, to review existing policies and identify workforce needs.
Though there have been attempts to study mental health burdens in the Pacific, past studies have come up short, with a lack of cultural comprehension and consultation. Researchers say in the process of data collection there’s an absence of lived experiences of these communities.
Sir Collin Tukuitonga brings to the attention the differences between cultural and traditional approaches to medicine.
“Take someone who is hearing voices. In a traditional medical setting, a doctor would diagnose the patient with schizophrenia. However, in many of the islands, hearing voices, particularly of your ancestors, is a well-recognised culturally acceptable phenomenon, to live with those who have passed away. That’s an example of why getting cultural bearings on mental disorders is important.”
The overall aim is to develop Pacifica-led, sustainable responses to mental health disorders while growing an inclusive body of local representatives, so that over time ownership will be passed onto these Pacific countries.
Data will be stored both in New Zealand and the project countries so that in-country partners can access and analyse the data. To uphold Pacific data sovereignty, promising an emphasis on data sharing that allows Pacific countries to derive value, such as health gains, from their own data.
Sir Tukuitoga says, “By carrying out toli or fieldwork in-country, it helps to create safe spaces for people to talk about mental health, which can hopefully lead to normalising or initiating talanoa around mental health”
Research is expected to start in Samoa late this year or in early 2023 and then set to expand to Tonga and Tuvalu.
