The Pacific Mental Health Surveys Project will
investigate mental health challenges in Samoa, Tonga and
Tuvalu
A new research project by Waipapa
Taumata Rau | University of Auckland researchers and Pacific
partners aims to investigate mental health challenges in
Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu as these countries navigate the
Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis.
The Pacific
Mental Health Surveys project is funded by the Polynesian
Health Corridors programme established by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade in conjunction with the Ministry
of Health. The National Institute for
Health Innovation (NIHI) is providing project management
and data management support.
“Pacific people have
managed their wellbeing and mental health on their own or
with the help of their family, churches or the village,”
said Sir
Collin Tukuitonga, who is co-leading the project.
“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.”
In addition to
Tukuitonga, who is Associate Dean Pacific and Associate
Professor of Public Health in the Faculty of Medical and
Health Sciences, the project is co-led by Associate
Professor Judith
McCool, head of the Department of Epidemiology and
Biostatistics, and Dr Roannie Ng
Shiu, Pacific Health Research Programme manager for the
Office of the Associate Dean Pacific. Nalei Taufa is the New
Zealand project manager.
“The resilience and the
collective strength of Pacific Island regions and
communities are evident as they deal with Covid-19 and the
climate crisis, but these complex and rapidly evolving
issues are expected to exacerbate mental health distress
among Pacific Island communities,” said McCool. “The
limited epidemiological evidence and anecdotes to date have
suggested a rise in the rates of mental health distress,
disorders and suicides in the region.”
While there
have been previous attempts to understand the mental health
burden in the Pacific, these have been limited in scale and
follow-up has not been appropriately tailored to the culture
and lived experiences of the communities, the researchers
say.
“Take someone who is hearing voices,” said
Tukuitonga. “In a traditional medical setting, if you say
you’re hearing voices in your head, the doctor will say
you have schizophrenia. However, in many of the islands,
hearing voices, particularly of your ancestors, is a
well-recognised cultural phenomenon because it’s seen as
quite normal to continue to live with those who have passed
away. That’s an example of why getting cultural bearings
on mental disorders is important.”
In addition to
gathering evidence on mental health disorders, the project
will review existing policies and identify workforce
capacity needs. To do this, the project team will work
closely with each country’s government and
workforce.
The project will be co-designed with
Pacific health and research professionals so project
ownership can be fully transferred to Pacific countries
after an initial period of working together. Ultimately, the
goal is to develop country-led, sustainable responses to
mental health disorders while growing local capability and
capacity in the process.
“The Pacific Mental Health
Surveys project is about building a better knowledge base
from which we can then advocate for better services,” says
Taufa. “By carrying out toli or fieldwork in-country, it
helps create safe spaces for people to talk about mental
health, which can hopefully lead to normalising or
initiating talanoa around mental health and its
challenges.”
The project will start in Samoa and
then expand to Tonga and Tuvalu. Key partners in Samoa
include Seiulialii Dr George Tuitama, the country’s only
psychiatrist, who will be the Samoan co-investigator, and
Muliagatele Dr Potoae Roberts-Aiafi, the Samoan coordinator,
who is recruiting more personnel including interviewers. Ng
Shiu will act as a bridge between the New Zealand and Samoa
partners.
On-the-ground research is expected to start
in Samoa late this year or in early 2023. 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, there will be an emphasis
on data sharing that allows Pacific countries to derive
value, such as health gains, from their own
data.
“Nothing is really about Pacific people if
it’s not created by Pacific people,” says Taufa. “This
project will reflect that from conceptualisation all the way
through to dissemination.”
About the
National Institute for Health Innovation
The
National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI) works to
improve health through research, service delivery and
informing policy. Our work is focused on preventing disease,
improving people’s health, reducing health inequities and
enabling the delivery of more effective and equitable
healthcare. NIHI is managed by UniServices, the research
impact company of Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of
Auckland. nihi.auckland.ac.nz
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