This review examined studies on the mental health of Asian and MELAA women and girls in New Zealand. Findings highlight limited and inconsistent data, with few studies providing detailed breakdowns. More focused research is needed to inform evidence-based policies and support equitable wellbeing outcomes for these communities.
Tag: Ethnic Minority
“I haven’t even taken them to the doctors, because I have that fear of what to expect”: a qualitative description study exploring perceptions and experiences of early childhood healthcare among ethnically diverse caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand
Summary
Equity underpins Aotearoa New Zealand’s publicly funded healthcare system; however, ethnic inequality persists. This qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of ethnically diverse parents accessing health services for their children.
Dying Well in Aotearoa New Zealand for ethnic minority communities: a time for reclamation?
Summary
Most New Zealanders, currently, are likely to die in hospital or in aged residential care. This paper explores the ‘good death’ in the context of Aotearoa’s multi-ethnocultural society. It highlights the importance of partnering with Ethnic minority communities (EMCs) to co-design culturally safe services to support EMCs to die well.
An intersectional approach to exploring lived realities and harnessing the creativity of ethnic minority youth for health gains: protocol for a multiphase mixed method study
Summary
This paper is targeted for researchers and describes the protocol for a multi-year study that examines, using an intersectional approach, how multiple marginalised identities impact mental and emotional wellbeing of Ethnic minority youth (EMY) in NZ. The study explores the implications of public discourse, racism and multiple forms of marginalisation on the wellbeing of EMYi. It is expected to provide evidence on the impacts of marginalisation on their mental health.
Improving health equity among the African ethnic minority through health system strengthening: a narrative review of the New Zealand healthcare system
Abstract
Background
In New Zealand, health equity is a pressing concern and reaching disadvantaged populations has become the goal to close the inequity gap. Building and strengthening health systems is one way to secure better outcomes. However, the discourse to date has predominately focussed on inequities in health outcomes for Māori. This study has interest in the African ethnic minority community in New Zealand. It undertakes a narrative review of the New Zealand health system which aims to identify literature around the attainment of health equity of African minority by: (i) providing a critical overview of the healthcare delivery system using World Health Organization’s six inter-related building blocks of health system strengthening; (ii)developing a summary and discussions of the research results and; (iii) identifying priorities and recommendations for future research.
Between reproductive rights and sex selection in New Zealand’s abortion reforms: practitioner dilemma in institutionalising ‘choice’ and ‘agency’
ABSTRACT
In 2020, the New Zealand (NZ) Parliament voted to decriminalise abortion.
Although NZ’s abortion law formally opposes sex selective abortions, there is considerable complexity in the gender politics of ‘choice’ and ‘agency’ in multi-ethnic societies, and interpretations of reproductive rights for ethnic minority women and for the girl child, respectively.
This paper explores these complexities through the perspectives of reproductive and maternity care practitioners who are situated at the interface of legal systems, health service provision, and delivery of culturally sensitive care. Thirteen practitioners were interviewed as part of this study. The analysis highlights strains in framings of ‘reproductive choice’ (underpinned by western liberal notions of rights) and ‘gender equality’ (abortion rights that acknowledge the complexity of cultural son-preference) for ethnic minority women. These tensions are played out in three aspects of the post-reform landscape: (a) everyday practice and accountability; (b) consumerism and choice; (c) custodianship and gender rights. The findings point to the limitations in operationalising choices for ethnic women in health systems wherein trust deficit prevails, and cultural dynamics render complex responses to abortion.
They also highlight reconfigurations of client-expert relationships that may have implications for practitioners’ abilities to advocate for ethnic women’s rights against cultural influences.