Lay summary
This is a Seeding Grant application and the applicant is based at the Centre for Pacific Health and Development Research, AUT. The aim of this study is to scope opportunities for the development of a collaborative research project in the Pacific. Using the Pacific Islands Families Study (PIFS) as the comparative New Zealand population, there is the opportunity to compare and contrast PIFS findings to a representative sample of either Cook Islands, Samoan or Tongan indigenous populations. It is proposed by the study that the process of migration is known to affect health. Generally migrants tend to have more adverse health outcomes (McKay et al. 2003). Recent findings by Burrows et al. 2010 on the affect that acculturation has on Pacific maternal and infant health during pregnancy found those mothers who are more aligned to their traditional Pacific cultures have better infant and maternal health. This study seeks to determine the manner in which culture affects health in both indigenous and migrant settings, and the process of acculturation upon migration will have value in understanding and planning more culturally appropriate services for New Zealand's Pacific people.