Longitudinal study of Pasifika families' health and wellbeing
A major longitudinal study of Pasifika children, now into its fifth year, is providing data on the wellbeing of Pasifika families, and valuable experience for new researchers.
The Pacific Islands Families (PIF) study, funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and the Health Research Council of New Zealand, is a longitudinal study following a cohort of approximately 1,400 Pasifika children born in 2000 at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital, and their families.
The study is being conducted by the Auckland University of Technology’s Centre for Pacific Health and Development Research under the auspices of the National Institute for Public Health and Mental Health Research. It aims to provide information on Pasifika peoples’ health – including the cultural, economic, environmental and psychosocial factors considered to be important influences on child health and development and family functioning.
It also aims to provide information on factors which, individually and interactively, influence positive and negative child, parent and family outcomes over time. A third aim is to provide information that will set quantifiable targets for Pasifika people’s health.
Esther Tumama Cowley-Malcolm, a Pasifika member of the research team, said this study was very significant for Pasifika people as it was the first study of its kind in the world which focused on Pasifika children’s health and development and socio-cultural context.
“Another important aspect of this study is that it acts as a springboard for budding Pacific researchers. With effective mentoring and research opportunities to participate at all levels of the research process, current postgraduate students working within the PIF study are gaining valuable experience as researchers.”
The information was obtained by interviewing mothers at six weeks after the birth of the infant, and again when the children were 12 and 24 months. Additional data were gathered from paternal interviews at 12 and 24 months and from hospital and Plunket records.
The next phase, entitled Pacific Islands Families: Transition to School, is under way, with children’s development and wellbeing at ages four and six years being assessed. “We are in the process of completing the last interviews of the four-year phase,” Esther said. The main aim is to provide information about pathways to a successful transition to school for Pasifika children.
Study co-director and Associate Professor Janis Paterson expressed hope for the future of the PIF study. “The research team is committed to keeping the study strong over the transitions to school phases so that it continues over middle childhood and into the adolescent years.”
