Pasifika Culture: Resources for physiotherapists
These resources address aspects of Seeing the ‘patient-as-person’. They have been collated to assist you to develop your understanding and practice in this component of Person and Whānau Centred Care.
Resources
Best health outcomes for Pacific Peoples: Practice implications. (2010) Medical Council of New Zealand. This resource aims to assist healthcare professionals to understand and implement practice that is culturally appropriate for Pacific peoples and whānau.
Pacific Health Review. A publication by Research Review. A periodic review covering research in the Pacific Health area, with expert commentary.
Pacific cultural competencies: A literature review. J. Tiatia (2008) Ministry of Health. This report provides an overview of the literature regarding Pacific cultural competencies to date, and provides practical recommendations for progressing this in healthcare.
A Pacific model of health: The Fonofale model. Health Hawke’s Bay. This provides an overview of the Fonofale model of health, and guidelines for working with Pacific peoples.
Language, culture and identity. Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Information and resources to promote Pacific indigenous languages and culture.
Yavu: Foundations of Pacific engagement. (2018). Ministry for Pacific Peoples. This document has been developed to provide guidance on how to engage with Pacific communities in ways that are meaningful and relevant.
Opinion pieces about identity. e-Tangata. This site provides a range of opinion pieces about identity, some addressing Pasifika identity.
Workplace challenges for Pasifika peoples—brown glass ceiling. Radio interview with Betty Ofe-Grant (11.02.2019). Nine-to-Noon. RNZ. (Audio length: 20.20 mins). Betty Ofe-Grant's PhD research has focused on the career barriers and challenges for Pasifika peoples in senior occupations. In particular, she looked at why Samoans, and by extension Tagata Pasifika don't easily rise to senior levels in organisations. The barriers include biculturalism, and a struggle of conflicting identities and values and missed opportunities.
10 things you need to know about Pasifika peoples in Aotearoa (dispelling some common myths about the Pacific). T. Lemanu (April, 2014). Core Education. (Education context). Togi Lemanu is a Samoan secondary teacher in South Auckland. In this blog he dispels common myths about Pasifika peoples, in order to help educators to better understand them.
Pasifika channel podcasts. Core Education. (Education context). This site provides a range of short podcasts about Pasifika matters in education, for education practitioners.
Pasifika values. (2016) Massey University. (Education context). This page provides a compilation of principles that are common to Pasifika people, and are demonstrated in their customs, practices, and ways of being.
A Tongan without the tongue - a cautionary tale. K. Vaka'uta (05.09.2019). RNZ. Koro Vaka'uta is the son of a Māori mother and a Tongan father who grew up in an English-speaking household in Lower Hutt. In this opinion piece, he writes of his father's hesitance to teach himself and his brother Tongan, and the impact that this has had on him.
Melani Anae:'We said we weren't going to take it anymore'. J. Tahana. (12.09.2019) RNZ. In this Eyewitness report, Jamie Tahana reports on the Polynesian Panthers movement in New Zealand, which had formed in the 1970s in response to the marginalization and discrimination experienced by the Pacific community. Includes audio ‘We brought racism to everyone’s attention’ [length: 17.08 min].
Some people may find some of these resources challenging or confronting. If you need help to process these feelings, you may want to engage in a professional relationship (e.g., professional supervision), or seek support from a counsellor (e.g., call or text 1737 for the NEED TO TALK service).
If you know of other freely and publicly available resources which address this component of Person and Whānau Centred Care, please contact us with the details. Please also contact us if any of the links do not work.
Page updated Feb 2024