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Pacific Health Models: Do they fit in?

Year:
2013
Duration:
3 months
Approved budget:
$5,000.00
Researchers:
Miss Mayor Mataio
Health issue:
Other (generic health or health services)
Proposal type:
Pacific Health Summer Studentship
Lay summary
A lot of the Pacific Health Models emphasis the need for 'culturally' developed interventions to address the issues among Pacific people that include the youths. Culture is upheld in terms of how people create and assign meaning to objects or language, beliefs, ideals rules, customs, myths and skills. In terms of understanding health among Pacific Islanders, it is viewed from a cultural lens. The Pacific Health Models provides this cultural lens to understand the objects that influences their wellbeing and these includes, spiritual, family, physical, other (sex, gender, age, socioeconomic) and 'culture' overarches all these components. This centres culture as the main components that need to be adopted by many health organisations in order to engage Pacific people. However, the applicability of this model to Pacific young people is not clear. Research has shown that Pacific young people do no fully uphold the traditional meaning of culture and they have a different understanding on what influences their health from a cultural lens. Pacific young people are less likely to be affiliated with religions, battling with cultural identity and little alone, language is slowly dying among some Pacific Islands at risk. Dancing is still strong because young people are surrounded by an evolving world of hip hops and rnb dances however; the traditional practices are less likely to be retained. This suggests that these issues are not being addressed by the current models and there is a need to review the models.