Ioana Mulipola spoke of the painful journey many Pacific Islanders were facing in their new homeland’s mental health system, at the recent NZNO-Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa conference.
“The western lens and the Samoan lens collide when they migrate here and that’s having a huge impact on them psychologically,” Mulipola said.
Mulipola is a nursing lecturer in Pacific mental health at Auckland University of Technology. She was born and raised in Samoa and has more than 17 years experience in mental health.
She loves her Samoan culture and her passion is merging the clinical and the cultural to improve the mental health of Samoan and other Pacific Islanders who have migrated to New Zealand. She gained a doctorate in health science from AUT last year.
“Most Pacific migrants are Samoan who have lived and breathed Faʻa Sāmoa – the Samoan way of life – but that is a world away from the realities of life in New Zealand.
“Islanders need to be aware that there will be consequences for their health and wellbeing, when they leave their villages, and come here.
“They will struggle to be understood in the health system here. They will struggle to understand this health system.
“Yes, coming to New Zealand is exciting for many Pacific peoples but they need to know the migrant dream can have serious consequences for their health.”
Pacific Islanders make up about 7 per cent of New Zealand’s population but have a lower life expectancy than the European population and have high rates of dying early from heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, stroke and lung disease.
Mulipola fully supports the call by NZNO for Te Whatu Ora to not only introduce safe nurse-to-patient ratios but ratios that are also culturally fit.
“Pacific nurses bring a wealth of knowledge but they make up only 4 per cent of all nurses in this country, so we really do need to increase those numbers, so Pacific peoples get the health-care they really need.”
To help get out her message to Pacific communities, Mulipola utilises social media platforms and a podcast called Fau Gagana – a Samoan nurse’s perceptive on mental health which can be accessed on Spotify or the Apple store.