MIT nursing grads ‘flipping the script’ on South Auckland through research
As the world watched New Zealand’s ‘go hard, go early’ response to COVID-19, Manukau Institute of Technology nursing graduates, Mary Roberts and Amio Ikihele, watched South Auckland playing its part, with a family-first, community-first approach.
“COVID-19 highlighted that Pasifika communities had the solutions within themselves,” explains Mary.
“They all came together, working collaboratively, they were incredibly compliant with COVID-19 testing, we had more Pasifika screenings than any other community which shows that when we talk about keeping our community safe, they were very responsive.”
After graduating from MIT, the pair both worked in community-based nursing. Now, Mary and Amio are two of six Pasifika owners of Moana Research - a consultancy group of passionate researchers and clinicians committed to providing resources during pregnancy and in the first five years of life.
A large part of their work is challenging negative narratives directed at our communities and highlighting the positive narratives for Pacific peoples. An example of this was after a local family was the first to test positive for COVID-19 in the August outbreak.
“It was very sad to see the judgement and stereotypes,” describes Amio. “We heard the comments that were being said. One example was at a COVID-19 screening in an east Auckland suburb site, a non-Pacific, non-Māori driver came through. He said he’d been looking for testing sites that weren’t in South Auckland because he didn’t want any South Auckland nurses to treat him. I was really taken aback by that.”
They also described how families are often deemed ‘uncompliant’ or ‘hard to reach’ when 12-hour work shifts take priority when in reality, the New Zealand healthcare system doesn’t meet the needs of the family.
“They don’t consider the context of the families who are trying to access these services,” Amio explains. “Even with one negative interaction with a health provider, it takes a long time to try and change that narrative from a health promoter perspective because they already have that bias towards them as ‘can’t be bothered taking time off work’ or ‘too high needs’.”
Amio saw how families found it difficult to access online health services, so – for them - it became about making sure that no family is left behind in digital health delivery.
“We looked at different solutions for families to develop that online connection. And usually, it isn’t through health, it starts off with different motivations factors, such as family, spirituality or community, and then you can build health onto these different foundations.”
A major focus at Moana Research is the application of Pacific frameworks to the various projects that they are involved with.
“There’s a lot that our Pacific families do well, so we should be strengthening those narratives (through research)”, explains Mary.
The consultancy is described as “a group of change makers, clinicians and researchers” making an impact on the community to drive change.
A report, which was commissioned by Counties Manukau Health, looked at how Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) was a mostly preventable event with well-known risk and protective factors. Working alongside Counties Manukau, Moana Research provided recommendations, some of which have been actioned.
“Research is the glue that underpins nursing practice,” says MIT Head of Nursing, Associate Professor Deborah Rowe (Ngāi Tahu). “It’s exciting to have graduates who are going into the field and coming back to share their knowledge with students. It shows our tauira the diversity of job opportunities they can go into.”
Towards the very end of 2020, the two were invited to MIT to discuss future collaborations with School of Nursing, as well as partnerships and developing an ongoing relationship.
“We want to make sure MIT nursing students leave thinking about research as well as a clinical pathway,” says Amio. “MIT produces amazing nurses and the exposure to the community that you gain during your clinical placement really prepare students for a future in nursing.”
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