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A view from a Goan in Aotearoa/New Zealand

The ocean is what we have in common: Relationships between indigenous and migrant people.

This piece was previously published in the Goanet Reader: Mon, 30 Nov 2009

Legend has it that Lord Parashuram (Lord Vishnu’s sixth incarnation) shot an arrow into the Arabian Sea from a mountain peak. The arrow hit Baannaavali (Benaulim) and made the sea recede, reclaiming the land of Goa. A similar story about land being fished from the sea by a God is told in Aotearoa, New Zealand, where Maui dropped his magic fish hook over the side of his boat (waka) in the Pacific Ocean and pulled up Te Ika a Maui (the fish of Maui), the North Island of New Zealand.

The first story comes from the place of my ancestors, Goa, in India and the second story comes from the place I now call home, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Both stories highlight the divine origins of these lands and the significance of the sea, as my friend Karlo Mila says “The ocean is another source of sustenance, connection and identity…. It is the all encompassing and inclusive metaphor of the sea. No matter how much we try to divide her up and mark her territory, she eludes us with her ever-moving expansiveness. The ocean is what we have in common.”

This piece for Goanet Reader is an attempt to create some engagement and discussion among the Goan diaspora about the relationships we have with indigenous and settler communities in the countries we have migrated to, and to ask, what our responsibilities and positions are as a group implicated in colonial processes?

My life has been shaped by three versions of colonialism: German, Portuguese and British, and continues to be shaped by colonialism’s continuing effects in the white settler nation of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Diasporic Goans have frequently occupied what Pamila Gupta calls positions of “disquiet” or uneasiness within various colonial hierarchies. For me, this has involved trying to understand what being a Goan means, far away from Goa and to understand the impact of colonisation.

I was born in Tanzania, brought up in Kenya and am now resident of Aotearoa/New Zealand with a commitment to social justice and decolonising projects. What disquieting position do I occupy here?

Both sets of my grandparents migrated to Tanganyika in the early part of the 20th Century. Tanganyika was a German colony from 1880 to 1919, which became a British trust territory from 1919 to 1961. Tanganyika became Tanzania after forming a union with Zanzibar in 1964.

On my father’s side, my great-grandfather and grandfather had already worked in Burma because of the lack of employment opportunities in Goa. Then when my grandfather lost his job in the Great Depression, he took the opportunity to go to Tanzania and work.

Indians had been trading with Africa as far back as the first century AD. The British indentured labour scheme was operational and had replaced slave labour as a mechanism for accessing cheap and reliable labour for plantations and railway construction, contributing to the development of the Indian diaspora in the 19th and 20th century.

Large-scale migrations of Indians to Africa began with the construction of the great railway from Mombasa to Lake Victoria in Uganda in the late nineteenth century. Indians were recruited to run the railways after they were built, with Goans coming to dominate the colonial civil services.

Some 15,000 of the 16,000 men that worked on the railroads were Indian, recruited for their work ethic and competitiveness. Sadly, a quarter of them returned to India either dead or disabled. Asians who made up one percent of the total population originated from the Gujarat, Kutch, and Kathiawar regions of western India, Goa and Punjab and played significant roles as middlemen and skilled labourers in colonial Tanganyika.

During the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964, over 10,000 Asians were forced to migrate to the mainland as a result of violent attacks (also directed at Arabs), with many moving to Dar es Salaam. In the 1970s over 50,000 Asians left Tanzania.

President Nyerere issued the Arusha Declaration in February 1967, which called for egalitarianism, socialism, and self-reliance. He introduced a form of African socialism termed Ujamaa (“pulling together”). Factories and plantations were nationalized, and major investments were made in primary schools and health care.

My parents migrated to Kenya in 1966. The newly independent East African countries of Tanzania (1961), Uganda (1962), and Kenya (1963) moved toward Africanising their economies post-independence which led to many Asians finding themselves surplus to requirements and resulting in many Asians leaving East Africa, a period known as the ‘Exodus’.

A major crisis loomed for United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s government with legislation rushed through to prevent the entry into Britain of immigrants from East Africa. The Immigration Act of 1968 deprived Kenyan Asians of their automatic right to British citizenship and was retroactive, meaning that it deprived them of an already existing right.

Murad Rayani argues that the vulnerability of Asians was compounded by the ambiguity of their relationship with the sub-continent, and with Britain whose subjects Asians had become when brought to East Africa.

Enoch Powell’s now infamous speech followed where he asserted that letting immigrants into Britain would lead to “rivers of blood” flowing down British streets. The Immigration Act of 1971 further restricted citizenship to subjects of the Commonwealth who could trace their ancestry to the United Kingdom.

In 1972 Idi Amin gave Uganda’s 75,000 Asians 90 days to leave. My parents decided to migrate to New Zealand in 1975.

While ‘Asians’ (South Asians) were discriminated against in relationship to the British, they were relatively privileged in relationship to indigenous Africans. As Pamila Gupta says, Goans were viewed with uncertainty by both colonisers and the colonised. Yet, the Kenyan freedom struggle was supported by many Asians such as lawyers like A. Kapila and J.M. Nazareth, who represented detained people without trial provisions during the Mau Mau movement. Others like Pio Gama Pinto fought for Kenya’s freedom, and was assassinated. Joseph Zuzarte whose mother was Masai and father was from Goa rose to become Kenya’s Vice-President. There was Jawaharlal Rodrigues, a journalist and pro-independence fighter and many many more. In 1914, an East African Indian National Congress was established to encourage joint action with the indigenous African community against colonial powers.

In the two migrations I have described, Goans occupied a precarious position and much has been documented about this in the African context. However, what precarious place do Goans occupy now especially in white settler societies?

Sherene Razack describes a white settler society as: ” … one established by Europeans on non-European soil. Its origins lie in the dispossession and near extermination of Indigenous populations by the conquering Europeans. As it evolves, a white settler society continues to be structured by a racial hierarchy. In the national mythologies of such societies, it is believed that white people came first and that it is they who principally developed the land; Aboriginal peoples are presumed to be mostly dead or assimilated. European settlers thus become the original inhabitants and the group most entitled to the fruits of citizenship. A quintessential feature of white settler mythologies is therefore, the disavowal of conquest, genocide, slavery, and the exploitation of the labour of peoples of colour.”

I’d like to explore this issue in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand where identities are hierarchically divided into three main social groups categories. First in the hierarchy are Pakeha New Zealanders or settlers of Anglo-Celtic background. The first European to arrive was Tasman in 1642, followed by Cook in 1769 with organised settlement following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The second group are Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand who are thought to have arrived from Hawaiki around 1300 AD and originated from South-East Asia. The third group are “migrants” visibly different Pacific Islanders or Asians make the largest groups within this category with growing numbers of Middle Eastern, Latin American and African communities. This latter group are not the first group that come to mind when the category of New Zealander is evoked and they are more likely to be thought of as “new” New Zealanders (especially Asians).

Increasingly, indigenous rights and increased migration from non-source countries have been seen as a threat to the white origins of the nation. While, the Maori translation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi may be acknowledged as the founding document of Aotearoa/New Zealand and enshrined in health and social policy, the extent to which policy ameliorates the harmful effects of colonisation remain minimal.

This can be seen in my field of health, where Maori ill health is directly correlated with colonisation. Maori nurses like Aroha Webby suggest that the Articles of the Treaty have been unfulfilled and the overall objective of the Treaty to protect Maori well-being therefore breached. This is evidenced in Article Two of the Treaty which guarantees tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) for Maori collectively and Article Three which guarantees equality and equity between Maori and other New Zealanders.

However, Maori don’t have autonomy in health policy and care delivery, and the disparities between Maori and non-Maori health status, point to neither equality nor equity being achieved for Maori. In addition, colonisation has led to the marginalising and dismantling of Maori mechanisms and processes for healing, educating, making laws, negotiating and meeting the everyday needs of whanau (family) and individuals.

So in addition to experiencing barriers to access and inclusion, Maori face threats to their sovereignty and self-determination. Issues such as legal ownership of resources, specific property rights and fiscal compensation are fundamental to Maori well being. Thus, the Treaty as a founding document has been poorly understood and adhered to by Pakeha or white settlers, in terms of recognising Maori sovereignty and land ownership.

Allen Bartley says that inter-cultural relationships have been traditionally shaped by New Zealand’s historical reliance on the United Kingdom and Ireland, leading to the foregrounding of Anglo-centric concerns. Discourses of a unified nation have been predicated on a core Pakeha New Zealand cultural group, with other groups existing outside the core such as Maori and migrants.

This monoculturalism began to be challenged by the increased prominence of Maori concerns during the 1970s over indigenous rights and the Treaty of Waitangi. The perception of a benign colonial history of New Zealand — an imperial exception to harsh rule — supplanted with a growing understanding that the Crown policies that were implemented with colonisation were not there to protect Maori interests despite the mythology of the unified nation with the best race relations in the world that attracted my family to New Zealand to settle.

So while countries such as Canada and Australia were developing multicultural policies, New Zealand was debating issues of indigeneity and the relationship with tangata whenua (Maori). More recently people from ethnic backgrounds have been asking whether a bicultural framework can contain multi-cultural aspirations. New Zealand has not developed a local response to cultural diversity (multiculturalism) that complements the bicultural (Maori and Pakeha) and Treaty of Waitangi initiatives that have occurred. However, many are worried that a multicultural agenda is a mechanism for silencing Maori and placating mainstream New Zealanders.

So is there a place/space for Goans in New Zealand? Or are we again occupying a disquieting space/place? According to Jacqui Leckie, one of the first Indians to arrive in New Zealand in 1853 was a Goan nicknamed ‘Black Peter’. Small numbers of Indians had been arriving since the 1800s, Lascars (Indian seamen) and Sepoys (Indian soldiers) arrived after deserting their British East India Company ships in the late 1800s.

The Indians that followed mainly came from Gujarat and Punjab, areas exposed to economic emigration. Indians were considered British subjects and could enter New Zealand freely until the Immigration Restriction Act (1899) came into being. Migration increased until 1920, when the New Zealand Government introduced restrictions under a “permit system”.

Later, in 1926, The White New Zealand League was formed as concern grew about the apparent threat that Chinese and Indian men appeared to present in terms of miscegenation and alien values and lifestyle. Discrimination against Indians took the form of being prevented from joining associations and accessing amenities such as barbers and movie theatres.

By 1945, families (mostly of shopkeepers and fruiterers) were getting established, and marriages of second-generation New Zealand Indians occurring. The profile of Indians changed after 1980, from the dominance of people born in or descended from Gujarat and Punjab. Indians began coming from Fiji, Africa, Malaysia, the Caribbean, North America, the United Kingdom and Western Europe.

Migrants are implicated in the ongoing colonial practices of the state and as Damien Riggs says the imposition of both colonisers and other migrants onto land traditionally owned by Maori maintains Maori disadvantage at the same time that economic, social and political advantage accrues to non-Maori.

But my friend Kumanan Rasanathan says that our accountabilities are different: “Some argue that we are on the Pakeha or coloniser side. Well I know I’m not Pakeha. I have a very specific knowledge of my own whakapapa, culture and ethnic identity and it’s not akeha. It also stretches the imagination to suggest we are part of the colonising culture, given that it’s not our cultural norms and institutions which dominate this country” (Rasanathan, 2005, p. 2).

Typically indigenous and migrant communities have been set up in opposition to one another as competitors for resources and recognition, which actually disguises the real issue which is monoculturalism, as Danny Butt suggests. My friend Donna Cormack adds that this construction of competing Others is a key technique in the (re)production of whiteness.

My conclusion is that until there is redress and justice for Maori as the indigenous people of New Zealand, there won’t be a place/space for me.

As Damien Riggs points out, the colonising intentions of Pakeha people continues as seen in the contemporary debates over Maori property rights of the foreshore and seabed which contradict the Treaty and highlight how Maori sovereignty remains denied or challenged by Pakeha.

My well being and belonging are tied up with that of Maori. Maori have paved the way for others to be here in Aotearoa/New Zealand, yet have a unique status that distinguishes them from migrant and settler groups. After all I can go to Goa to access my own culture but the only place for Maori is Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Increasingly, the longer I’ve lived in Aotearoa/New Zealand and spent time with Maori, the more I’ve begun to understand and value the basis of Maori relationships with the various other social groups living here as being underpinned by manaakitanga (hospitality), a concept that creates the possibility for creating a just society. Understanding and supporting Treaty of Waitangi claims for redress and Maori self-determination (tino rangatiratanga) allows for the possibility for the development of a social space that is better for all of us.

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Developing diversity in the workforce

Published in Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand 1410.10 (Oct 2008): p23(1).

Identifying barriers, opportunities and strategies to integrate and develop a diverse health workforce was the aim of a workshop at the recent Diversity Forum in Auckland.

“Capitalising on a diverse health workforce” was hosted by the Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and opened by dean of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at AUT’s North Shore campus, Max Abbott. He recounted how pivotal overseas health professionals were to his recovery during a recent hospital stay.

Nurse consultant-recruitment at North Shore Hospital, Waitemata District Health Board (DHB), Carat Frankson, identified some bottlenecks to the registration of overseas nurses, in particular passing the International English Language Testing System (IETLS) exam, getting a job offer and finding employment opportunities for spouses. Other bottlenecks included organising passports and visas, selling and buying houses, finding schools, living costs, climate, separation from family, loss of familiar surroundings, religious practices, cultural backgrounds and the financial costs of moving from one country to another. Strategies the DHB provided in order to embrace a diverse nursing workforce included:

  • coaching, support, mentorship and supervision in the work environment;
  • introduction to the New Zealand cultural context and context of nursing at the DHB;
  • education in the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi; and
  • education in the values of the Waitemata DHB: integrity, compassion, openness, respect and customer focus.

The process could be mutually beneficial, Frankson said. “It is our responsibility to introduce and support new recruits into the New Zealand way of life, offering them cultural support. Incorporating and including immigrants into our communities is a responsibility we all share.” White these health professionals benefitted our workforce, they could also benefit other areas of society, eg schools, Libraries, universities, community centres, religious centres and the legal system, she said.

Auckland DHB clinical nurse educator, Roanne Crane’s presentation on integrating overseas-trained health professionals into the DHB identified some of the issues facing overseas registered nurses, such as Language, manoeuvring through the New Zealand registration process, socialisation, cultural differences, unprincipled agents and assumptions/racism.

Reducing health inequalities

Workforce development consultant at Counties Manukau DHB, Elizabeth Ryan, discussed the increasing demand for health services. The population was ageing, with the number of people over 65 projected to more than double between 2001 to 2021; a third of deaths occurring everyday in Counties Manukau were from potentially preventable conditions; and workforce demand would outstrip supply, with shortages nationally of up to 40 percent predicted by 2021, including in South Auckland. Having an ethnically diverse workforce was a key strategy in reducing inequalities in health, she said. The workforce needed to reflect the community being served in order to deliver quality health services in a culturally-appropriate manner. Ethnic matching was associated with greater patient satisfaction and better patient-reported outcomes.

She highlighted initiatives such as increasing the number of high school students studying health courses, with an emphasis on Maori and Pacific students, increasing numbers pursuing health at mid-career level, especially males/ Maori and Pacific people, collecting accurate demographic data, developing an affirmative action policy and the pilot programme which wilt see around 50 Pacific-Island trained nurses gain registration in New Zealand annually over the next three years.

Meeting the challenge of institutionalised racism was tackled by Auckland University researcher Nicola North. Of note was the complex and subtle set of skills that international medical graduates (IMGs) and international registered nurses(IRNs) needed to acquire, eg understanding cultural differences, familiarity with the culture of the new community of practice, fluency with the nuances of professional communication, and understanding the behaviour and values expected. To meet the challenge, North suggested several factors needed to be addressed: self-reflection as a society, a focus on immigration and settlement structures and processes, even-handed behaviour from registration councils, finding employment, smoothing the process of joining the new practice community and, lastly, getting real. “We need to acknowledge we need IMGs and IRNs more than they need us,” she said.

In the final part of the workshop, the group considered the question: What would a health system that capitalised on its diversity look like? Answers included:

  • recognising skills and supporting people financially;
  • ensuring the health workforce reflects the population demographics;
  • passing on success stories to the media;
  • rewarding and acknowledging cultural competence;
  • fostering diversity at all levels, including around decision-making, to develop new ideas and treatments;
  • consolidating, streamlining and integrating information systems to free up funding for initiatives;
  • growing the inter-cultural communication capacity of the entire workforce, eg educating people about how to deriver bad news to patients;
  • including diversity at art education levels;
  • focusing on areas of under-representation and targeting them specifically; and
  • ensuring support mechanisms are developed to take into account cultural differences, eg around employee disputes.

New York author Margaret Visser argues that change and diversity are necessary to human growth and evolution: “Machines like, demand, and produce uniformity. But nature loathes it: her strength lies in multiplicity and in differences. Sameness, in biology, means fewer possibilities and, therefore, weaknesses.” (1)

Reference

(1) Visser, M. (1999) Much depends on dinner:. The extraordinary history and mythology, allure and obsessions, perils and taboos, of an ordinary meal. New York: Grove Press.

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Submission to the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2008

Congratulations on a wonderful job in developing the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy. I am pleased to see an inter-sectoral approach that is both evidence and strengths based. It is also encouraging to see mention of diverse communities and an approach that integrates protection, promotion, early identification, crisis support, attention to families and support in the aftermath of suicide. Thanks for the opportunity to add my rather swiftly developed submission to the New Zealand suicide prevention strategy. I am focussing this submission on Asians and South Asians in particular, but am aware (as per our teleconference on Friday) that these issues pertain to other migrant and refugee groups as well.

My key points are:

  1. Asians are a high risk group for suicide and attempted suicide according to overseas research (especially South Asian young women).
  2. We need better ethnicity data collection practices as data is limited.
  3. There are issues with the umbrella term Asian which disguise differenceswithin groups.
  4. There are significant barriers in accessing services, particularly mental health services.
  5. Further research is needed that is clinical and epidemiological in order to identify prevention and intervention strategies that may vary from other groups.

Asians and statistics

Asians are a growing population in New Zealand. By 2016 they are expected to make up 9% of New Zealand’s and 20% of the Auckland Region’s total population. As such the health and social service needs of Asians must be considered by service providers. As you are aware there is limited research data available in New Zealand, 12 Asian people died by suicide (10 males and two females) in 2002, compared to 20 deaths

in 2001 and 21 deaths in 2000 (Ministry of Health, 2005). In our teleconference we also expressed concern the underreporting of suicide and coronial issues. I am concerned about the category as there is diversity within the people subsumed into the category Asian, with some groups especially at risk and others well protected) and the concept has limited use (Aspinall, 2003; Henare & Ehrhardt, 2004).

High rates of suicide and attempted suicide

Disproportionally high rates of suicide and attempted suicide have been found among South Asians in the diaspora (Batsleer, Chantler, & Burman, 2003; Bhugra & Desai, 2002; Bhugra & Hicks, 2004; Burr, 2002; Hicks & Bhugra, 2003). The highest were in young women of South Asian origin who have rates that are double that of the White population in the United Kingdom of completed suicide and 1.6 times more likely to attempt suicide(Hicks & Bhugra, 2003). Hicks and Bhugra examined perceived causes of suicide attempts in 180 ethnic South Asian women living in the London area. The three factors endorsed most frequently and strongly as causes of suicide attempts in South Asian women were violence by the husband, being trapped in an unhappy family situation, and depression. South Asian women are also two and a half times more likely to attempt suicide that South Asian men.

Barriers to accessing services

Recent New Zealand research has found that barriers for Chinese people accessing services include a lack of English language proficiency leading to communication difficulties and knowledge gaps, for example, being unaware of what services are available; the important role of primary healthy care and General Practitioners in particular as a first point of contact and a lack of awareness of the health and civil rights of citizens in New Zealand (Ruth DeSouza & Garrett, 2005). The research identified regional differences in terms of the place of birth of respondents and, in particularly, it was noted that Chinese-born respondents experienced more communication difficulties than those born in Hong Kong or Taiwan. Some of the strategies recommended in the report which are pertinent here include: encouraging cultural competence in health services (clinical, systemic and organisational), staff training and workforce development, developing partnerships with ethnic communities and community organisations, involving ethnic communities in strategic planning and linguistic competence. The latter involves not only ensuring that resources are available in several languages but also that interpreting and translation services are available.

Accessing mental health services

There are issues in attempting to access mental health services as well which are compounded by stigma within ethnic communities and anxiety from the mental health workforce. Increasingly mental health services are being called on to provide culturally appropriate care, but little is known about what that constitutes. Such a call cannot be answered if mental health professionals are not prepared for working in ways that are culturally competent. Despite the emphasis on cultural safety as part of the curricula of undergraduate health professional preparation, it has largely been concerned with Treaty obligations to Tangata whenua rather than evolving to meet the needs of ethnic communities (R. DeSouza, 2004). Burman, 2003, p.106) found in a research project investigating suicide and self-harm in the United Kingdom among South Asians that staff working with the women were caught in ‘race anxiety’ whereby white staff were hesitant and silent around issues to do with race, gender and mental health and were concerned that their actions were not misinterpreted. Their responses were to pass on issues to their South Asian counterparts or to avoid them. For the South Asian workers there was concern that discussing issues like this would reinforce or add to the existing stereotypes. This culture of silence within mainstream services was viewed as frustrating and annoying.

Ruth DeSouza Centre Co-ordinator/Senior Research Fellow Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research Faculty of Health & Environmental Science Auckland University of Technology Address: Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1020

Ethnicity data collection

There is a need for improvements in quality ethnicity data collection so as to more clearly ascertain health needs and dispraities (Aspinall, 2003; British Medical Journal, 1996; Klajakovic, 1993; Latimer, 2003; McLeod et al., 2000; Ministry of Health, 2001, 2003, nd-a, nd-b; New Zealand Health Information System, 1996; Pringle & Rothera, 1996; Senior & Bhopal, 1994; Statistics New Zealand, 1996; Thiru, Hassey, & Sullivan, 2003; D. R. Thomas, 2000; S. B. Thomas, 2001). Several reports and research findings confirm that ethnicity data collection is poorly conducted by staff. A Waitemata District Health Board review found that staff were unaware of national guidelines for collecting data, had not received training on why and how ethnicity data was collected and consequently collected it inconsistently (Latimer, 2003). An internal paper for the Ministry of Health based on interviews with key stakeholders and a literature review found that there was inconsistency in the way in which data was collected and that what was collected was inaccurate and incomplete and that the concept of ethnicity was misunderstood (Ministry of Health, nd-a). These factors point to the need for support and training to facilitate accurate data collection. In order that ethnicity data is collected consistently and accurately ethnicity questions need to be aligned with Statistics New Zealand Census question for 2001 so that they are standardised. Variation exists across health providers around the method of ethnicity data collection, ranging from not asking and using previous admission information, to asking verbally to postal or using a show card. Furthermore, in secondary care, staff rely on information from GP’s which has been found to be problematic. A national survey of 1,062 members of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) found that only 20% of practices collected ethnicity data. A recent study of 12 South Island practices found ethnicity was recorded for only 5% of patients (McLeod et al., 2000). Other problematic areas include the assumption of ethnicity by a provider.

Recommendations

• Further research and exploration of factors is needed in clinical and epidemiological studies of suicidality in South Asian women which might then contribute to prevention and intervention strategies.

• Better collection of ethnicity data (McKenzie, Serfaty, & Crawford, 2003). • Access to information in commonly used languages. • Encouraging cultural competence in health services (clinical, systemic and

organisational). • Staff training and workforce development. • Developing partnerships with ethnic communities and community

organisations. • Involving ethnic communities in the design of services.

Ruth DeSouza Centre Co-ordinator/Senior Research Fellow Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research Faculty of Health & Environmental Science Auckland University of Technology Address: Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1020

References

Aspinall, P. J. (2003). Who is Asian? A Category that Remains Contrived in Population and Health Research. Journal of Public Health Medicine, 25(2), 91-97.

Batsleer, J., Chantler, K., & Burman, E. (2003). Responses of health and social care staff top South Asian women who attempt suicide and/or self-harm. Journal of Social Work Practice, 17(1), 103-114.

Bhugra, D., & Desai, M. (2002). Attempted suicide in South Asian women. Adv Psychiatr Treat, 8(6), 418-423.

Bhugra, D., & Hicks, M. H.-R. (2004). Effect of an Educational Pamphlet on Help- Seeking Attitudes for Depression Among British South Asian Women. Psychiatric Services, 55(7), 827-829.

British Medical Journal. (1996). Style Matters: Ethnicity, race, and culture: guidelines for research, audit, and publication. British Medical Journal, 312, 1094. Burr, J. (2002). Cultural stereotypes of women from South Asian communities: mental health care professionals’ explanations for patterns of suicide anddepression. Social Science & Medicine, 55(5), 835-845.

DeSouza, R. (2004). Working with refugees and migrants. In D. Wepa (Ed.), Culturalsafety (pp. 122-133). Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand.

DeSouza, R., & Garrett, N. (2005). Access Issues for Chinese People in New Zealand(draft). Auckland: Accident Compensation Corporation.

Henare, K., & Ehrhardt, P. (2004). Support for Maori, Pacific and Asian Family,Whanau, and Significant Others who have been bereaved by suicide: Findings of a literature search. Wellington: Ministry of Youth Development.

Hicks, M. H. R., & Bhugra, D. ( 2003). Perceived Causes of Suicide Attempts by U.K. South Asian Women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73(4), 455-462.

Klajakovic, M. (1993). Is it easy collecting ethnicity data in general practice? NewZealand Medical Journal, 106, 103-104.

Latimer, S. (2003). Waitemata District Health Board: Ethnicity Data Collection Baseline Review. Auckland: Waitemata District Health Board.

McKenzie, K., Serfaty, M., & Crawford, M. (2003). Suicide in ethnic minoritygroups. British Journal of Psychiatry, 183(2), 100-101.

McLeod, D., Harris, R., Bailey, T., Dowell, A., Robson, B., & Reid, P. (2000). The collection of patient ethnicity data: a challenge for general practice. New Zealand Family Physician, 27(3), 51-57.

Ministry of Health. (2001). Monitoring Ethnic Inequalities in Health. Wellington:

Ministry of Health. Ministry of Health. (2003). Health and disability sector ethnicity data protocols. Wellington:

Ministry of Health. Ministry of Health. (2005). Suicide Facts: Provisional 2002 All-Ages Statistics. Wellington: Ministry of Health. Ministry of Health. (nd-a). Environmental scan: Ethnicity data collection issues.Wellington: Ministry of Health.

Ministry of Health. (nd-b). Submission on the review of the measurement of ethnicity. New Zealand Health Information System. (1996). Recording patient information:Ethnicity. Wellington: New Zealand Health Information System.

Pringle, M., & Rothera, I. (1996). Practicality of recording patient ethnicity in general practice: descriptive intervention study and attitude survey. Retrieved 8th February, 2004, from http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/312/7038/1080

Senior, P., & Bhopal, R. (1994). Ethnicity as a variable in epidemiological research. British Medical Journal, 309, 327-330.

Statistics New Zealand. (1996). Ethnicity – Standard Classification 1996. Retrieved 8th February, 2003, from http://www.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/carsweb.nsf/Classifications/Ethnicity+-+Standard+Classification+1996

Thiru, K., Hassey, A., & Sullivan, F. (2003). Systematic review of scope and quality of electronic patient record data in primary care. BMJ, 326(7398), 1070-1070.

Thomas, D. R. (2000). Assessing Ethnicity in New Zealand Health Research. New Zealand Medical Journal, 114, 12-14.

Thomas, S. B. (2001). The color line: Race matters in the elimination of health disparities. American Journal of Public Health, 91(7), 1046-1049.

 

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Indians in New Zealand and the story of my family’s arrival

The Indian community is a growing minority in New Zealand, making up the second largest group in the category ‘Asian’ after Chinese communities.

You can watch a short video (4.38), excerpted from the TV Series Here to Stay about Indians in New Zealand. by clicking on the link. I talk about my parents’ decision to migrate and the experience of arrival: Ruth DeSouza: Arriving in New Zealand.

I’ve also provided a very brief background of Indian migration to New Zealand from an article I wrote: DeSouza, R. (2006). Researching the health needs of elderly Indian migrants in New Zealand. Indian Journal of Gerontology, 20 (1&2), 159-170.

The 2006 Census found that European New Zealander’s make up 67.6% of the population of people in New Zealand, 14.6 % of people as Māori. Pacific Peoples make up 6.9% of the population, Asians 9.2% and Middle Eastern, Latin American & African people 0.9%. The Census also found that 11.1% of people identified themselves as New Zealanders (Statistics New Zealand, 2006). Within the Asian group, Indians had the highest percentage increase in population between 2001 and 2006  increasing from 62,190    to 104,583 a 68.2% increase. The previous Census of 2001, found that Indian-New Zealanders were highly qualified and more likely to receive income from wages and salaries than the total New Zealand population and as likely as the overall New Zealand population to receive income from self-employment thus Indians have the second highest median annual income among the Asian ethnic groups, are involved in white collar employment and, at 77%, had the highest labour force participation rate of all the Asian ethnic groups (Statistics New Zealand, 2002a).  A relatively high level of home ownership (41%) was also found. This profile of Indian New Zealanders is a recent development, early Indian migration was primarily derived from two rural areas of India, Gujarat and Punjab, and arrivals were mainly traders, farmers, artisans or small businessmen (Tiwari, 1980).

The Indian connection with New Zealand began in the late 1800s through Lascars (Indian seamen) and Sepoys (Indian soldiers) on British East India Company ships that brought supplies to the Australian convict settlements. The earliest Indian to arrive in New Zealand is thought to have jumped ship in 1810 to marry a Mâori woman. The Indians that followed came mainly from Gujarat and Punjab, areas of India which had been exposed to emigration, and were driven by economic factors. Initially Indians were considered British subjects and could enter New Zealand freely. This changed with the passing of the Immigration Restriction Act 1899.

Indian migration increased until 1920, when the New Zealand Government introduced restrictions under a ‘permit system’ (Museum of New Zealand: Te Papa Tongarewa, 2004). In 1926, the White New Zealand League was formed as concern grew about the apparent threat that Chinese and Indian men appeared to present in terms of miscegenation and alien values and lifestyle. Discrimination against Indians manifested in restrictions around joining associations and accessing amenities such as barbers and movie theatres. By 1945, families (mostly of shopkeepers and fruiterers) were getting established and marriages of second-generation New Zealand Indians were occurring. As well as Gujuratis and Punjabis, smaller numbers of Indians came from locations such as Fiji, Africa, Malaysia, the Caribbean, North America, the United Kingdom and Western Europe. The proportion of Fiji-born Indian immigrants to New Zealand rose significantly as a result of the Fijian coups of 1987 and 2000 (Swarbrick, 2004).

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Sailing In A New Direction

First published by: Australian Network for Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention for Mental Health (Auseinet) – www.auseinet.com/journal and then republished in Mindnet Issue 11 – Spring 2007

Abstract

Migrants and refugees make up an increasingly significant number of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s population with one in five New Zealanders being born in another country compared with one in eight people in the United States and one in fifteen in Europe. Increasingly efforts are being made to ensure that settlement services are provided and that mental health service delivery is cognisant of their needs. This paper describes some of the efforts being undertaken in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the implications of such efforts; in particular the mental health of Asians, a growing group, is explored. The author suggests that there is a need to learn from Pacific people’s ventures, to broaden the bicultural dialogue and finally to expand the new focus from Asians, refugees and migrants to also include the needs of long term settled communities and international students.

Keywords

multicultural, bicultural, multicultural mental health, mental health policy, Māori, Pacific peoples, Asian people

Simply by sailing in a new direction You could enlarge the world. (Curnow, 1997, p.226)

A sailing metaphor seems apt as the focus of this paper is on the people who have crossed the ocean to reach Aotearoa/New Zealand. Around 1300 AD the ancestors of Māori used the stars and the winds to sail southward from Hawaiiki in their waka (canoes) to Aotearoa/New Zealand. Thousands of years earlier, the world’s first seafarers had set off from South-East Asia, sailing into the Pacific on rafts. Tasman’s arrival in 1642, followed by Cook in 1769 marked the arrival of Europeans. Organised settlement followed the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Pacific migration increased from a trickle after World War II as manufacturing and service industries grew. Asians too had been coming to New Zealand since the 1800s but their numbers were small until after 1987.

Young Chinese men from Guangdong province travelled to the goldfields of Otago in the 1860s (Ip, 2005) and Indian connections with New Zealand began in the late 1800s with Lascars (Indian seamen) and Sepoys (Indian soldiers) arriving after deserting their British East India Company ships (Swarbrick, 2005). The earliest refugees arrived between 1870-1890 and included Danes, Russian Jews and French Huguenots. Subsequently, refugees from Nazism (1933-39), Poland (1944), Hungary (1956-58), ‘handicapped’ refugees (1959), Chinese (1962-71), Russian Christians from China (1965), Asians from Uganda (1972-73), Chileans, Soviet Jews, Eastern Europeans, people from the Middle East, South-East Asia (Indo-Chinese), Somalia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran and the Sudan have resettled in New Zealand. More recently, Asian foreign fee-paying students have impacted on the education system, becoming important to the national economy and more visible in society (International Division & Data Management and Analysis, 2005).

It’s time to enlarge our world

Migrants to New Zealand are caught between two charged agendas: the colonial ideal of a homogeneous society, replicating Britain, and the desire of Māori for recognition as people of the land, or Tangata whenua, with specific rights. New Zealand’s founding document, The Treaty of Waitangi and the social policy principle of biculturalism have become an explicit template for relationships between indigenous Māori and subsequent migrants. The racialising and othering of migrant groups, along with past migration policy designed to keep the country white (Beaglehole, 2005), have implicitly shaped the treatment of migrants.

Changing migration patterns

The 2001 Census found that Europeans/Pākehā (Māori name for white New Zealanders) made up 79.6% of the population, followed by New Zealand Māori with 14.5%, people from the Pacific Islands 5.6%, and Asians 6.6% (adds to more than 100% because ethnicity is self-defined; people could select more than one ethnicity). Of the Asians, the largest groups are Chinese who make up 2.2% and Indians who make up 1.2% of the total New Zealand population (Statistics New Zealand, 2002b). Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group, increasing by around 140% over the last ten years and predicted to increase by 122% by 2021. In comparison, Pākehā will increase by 1%, Māori 28% and Pacific People 58%. This new diversity is in stark contrast to the previous assimilationist post-1945 migration policy which positioned the ideal migrant as ‘invisible’. Linguistic and religious diversity were also a hallmark of the 2001 Census which noted a 20% increase in the number of multilingual people and an increase in the percentage of people whose religion was non-Christian, including Hindu 56%, Buddhist 48% and Islam 74%.

Policy changes: From monocultural to bicultural to multicultural

Canada and Australia embraced multiculturalism during the 1960s, transforming the notion of settlement into a two way process; change was required by both migrants and the host society. New Zealand policy made this strategic move only as recently as 1986. The 1980s were a pivotal period in discussions of New Zealand identity, featuring biculturalism and its incorporation into social policy in New Zealand (Bartley & Spoonley, 2004). Discussions of multiculturalism began with the arrival of Pacific peoples in the 1970s and required Pākehā to cede the monopoly on power and decision making and the allocation of resources (Bartley & Spoonley, 2004). An attempt to address the bicultural/multicultural relationship came about with proposals that biculturalism should take precedence and subsequent arrivals to Aotearoa needed to negotiate a primary relationship with Māori (Bartley & Spoonley, 2004). Multi-culturalism would then be the outcome of a network of completed bicultural negotiations; however, no process was ever suggested for this to occur (Bartley & Spoonley, 2004). The bicultural/multicultural debate remains un-resolved and problematic (DeSouza, 2004a; Mohanram, 1998; Thakur, 1995; Walker, 1995; Wittman, 1998). However, rather that biculturalism being a barrier to multiculturalism, I believe that it has paved the way for the majority culture to consider cultural issues at large. The Immigration Act 1987 eased access into New Zealand from non-traditional source countries and replaced entry criteria based on nationality and culture with criteria initially based on skills. The policy changes led to unprecedented cultural diversity. In particular, Asians became a sizable majority of migrants, increasing from 18.7% of permanent and long term arrivals in 1987 to 48% in 1993 (Bartley & Spoonley, 2004).

A growing Asian population

‘Asian’ is a term that has differing definitions depending on the geographical context in which it is used. In New Zealand ‘Asian’ tends to refer to people from South East Asia and there are debates about whether an umbrella term such as ‘Asian’ is useful or merely an expedient construct that potentially provides benefits but disguises disparities within groups (Rasanathan, Craig & Perkins, 2004; Workshop Organising Team, 2005). In the 2001 Census, 44% of Asians identified with the Chinese ethnic group, 26% with the Indian ethnic group, 8% Korean, 5% Filipino, 4% Japanese, 3% Sri Lankan, 2% Cambodian, 2% Thai, and 8% with other Asian ethnic groups (note that people could give more than one response; therefore, these percentages do not add to 100) (Statistics New Zealand, 2002a). Asians in New Zealand are a relatively young population and are generally in good health. Most live in the Auckland region and over half are aged between 25 and 65 years, around 20% are aged 15 to 24 years and 20% are aged below 14 years (Asian Public Health Project Team, 2003). This age-distribution is similar to Māori and Pacific people, but Asians are younger (on average) than Europeans. The rapid growth of the Asian population has exposed a lack of policy and structures to evaluate and address their needs (Workshop Organising Team, 2005).

Access issues and underutilisation of mental health services

A survey examining health status in a large representative sample of Asian people (Scragg & Maitra, 2005) found that Asians underutilise health services:

  • Asian people were less likely than other New Zealanders, Māori and Pacific people to have visited a health practitioner (or service) when they were first unwell.
  • Asian people were less likely than Europeans to visit a health practitioner about a chronic disease (doctor, specialist, nurse or complementary healer).
  • Asian women were less likely than other New Zealand women to have had a mammogram or cervical screening test in the last three years.
  • Asians were less likely than all New Zealanders to use any type of telephone helpline in the last 12 months.
  • Asians also only wanted to see their general practitioner for a short term illness or a routine check up rather than visiting for an injury, poisoning, or for mental or emotional health reasons.

Another study found that barriers to accessing services for Chinese people included lack of language proficiency of respondents, lack of knowledge about civil rights and problems accessing general practitioners (DeSouza & Garrett, 2005).

This underutilisation is further reflected in mental health statistics. Of the 87,576 mental health clients seen by District Health Boards in 2002, only 1.9% were Asian despite making up over 6.5% of the population (New Zealand Health Information Service, 2005). This could in part be due to the bias of New Zealand’s migration policy which selects young and healthy migrants but it is clear that Asians underutilise mental health services and this does not necessarily mean that they are keeping well (Ho, Au, Bedford & Cooper, 2002). A study among recent Chinese migrants using the General Health Questionnaire found that 19% reported psychiatric morbidity (Abbott, Wong, Williams et al., 1999). A study of older Chinese migrants aged over 55 found that 26% showed depressive symptoms (Abbott, Wong, Giles et al., 2003). Lower emotional supports, greater number of visits to a doctor, difficulties in accessing health services and low understanding and engagement with New Zealand society increased the risk of developing depression. Interestingly, while participants with depressive symptoms consulted general practitioners more than their counterparts without such symptoms, they reported greater difficulty in accessing health services. Research with Asian migrants, refugees and student sojourners in New Zealand shows that social supports can assist newcomers to cope with the stresses of migration and reduce the risk of emotional disorder (Abbott et al., 1999). Conversely, research shows that language and cultural barriers can limit access to health services (Abbott et al., 1999; DeSouza & Garrett, 2005; Ngai, Latimer & Cheung, 2001).

Need for workforce development

The cultural competence of mental health staff for working with Asian consumers has not been researched. However, a recent project investigating the intercultural experiences of social workers in New Zealand found that contact with migrants, refugees or asylum seekers was infrequent, especially outside of Auckland (Nash & Trlin, 2004), but that the majority of social workers felt competent or better than competent in terms of working interculturally. Respondents recommended that further training in cross-cultural social work, staff training and better support services be available, in tandem with improvements in community services and the education of the host community to see new settlers as valuable additions to society. In another study, psychiatrists were surveyed by Johnstone and Read (2000), who found that out of 247 psychiatrists surveyed, only 40% believed that their training had prepared them to work effectively with Māori. Some of the suggested recommendations for improving how they worked with Māori included needing to understand Māori perspectives of well-being, and increasing the number of Māori professionals and Māori run services. Of psychiatrists who responded to the survey, 70% believed that there was a need to consult with Māori when working with Māori. A training package is being developed by University of Auckland, funded by the Health Research Council, to develop cultural competence in mental health staff working with Asians. Further development in this area is signalled in the next mental health action plan discussed later in this paper.

Omission in health research

Asian ethnic groups have been largely neglected by New Zealand health policies and research, despite their population growth (Duncan, Schofield, Duncan et al., 2004). Duncan et al. cite the example of the 2002 National Children’s Nutrition Survey, where both over-sampling and separate analysis of Māori and Pacific Island children occurred while Asian children were subsumed with New Zealand Europeans. Large-scale studies are needed to determine health risk across all major ethnic groups in New Zealand, which will in turn enable development of ethnic-specific data. Even more critical is the need for data concerning ethnic variation in other areas of health so that effective interventions can be developed and implemented (Duncan et al., 2004). This omission and exclusion is by no means a rare occurrence in national surveys and prevents the development of an understanding of the public health needs of Asian communities in New Zealand, necessary for the development of appropriate preventative health strategies.

Settlement issues

A report commissioned by the New Zealand Immigration service found that migrants had four areas of need: everyday needs, learning English, employment, and supportive connections (Ho, Cheung, Bedford & Leung, 2000). Factors such as unemployment or underemployment, having experienced discrimination in New Zealand, not having close friends, being unemployed and spending most of one’s time with one’s own ethnic group were predictors for poor adjustment among migrant groups (Pernice, Trlin, Henderson & North, 2000). In the last few years, a range of settlement programmes have been funded nationally with the development of an Immigration Settlement Strategy (New Zealand Immigration Service, 2003) for migrants, refugees and their families. The strategy’s six goals provide a broad base for enhancing wellbeing and include appropriate employment; confidence with using English or accessing appropriate language support; accessing appropriate information and responsive services; supportive social networks and sustainable community identity; expressing ethnic identity and acceptance and inclusion of the wider host community; and participation in activities.

Visible but invisible groups

The arrival of primarily Asian fee-paying students has had an impact on the education system, a greater importance to the national economy in terms of providing increased funding to educational institutions, and higher visibility in society in that most of the international students have come from China (International Division & Data Management and Analysis, 2005). Asian enrolment numbers rose by 318% over a five year period (1999-2003) to nearly 119,000, with an estimated economic value NZ$2.2 billion New Zealand dollars and providing 40,101 jobs (Infometrics, 2006). These numbers declined in the 2003-2004 period, leading to concern about the rapid development of the sector and raising the need for better quality assurance systems, which are now implemented through the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of Foreign Fee-Paying Students (Section 238H of the Education Act 1989). Levies paid by institutions with international students are used to support activities and projects relating to the export education industry such as promotion, communications, capability development, quality assurance, research and the administration of the Code (Ministry of Education, 2003). However, other than being able to use counselling services within their institutions, most international students are not entitled to access publicly funded (mental) health services while in New Zealand and are liable for the full costs of treatment unless they are sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and then only for the duration of that process. Once they are no longer under the Act, they are charged. Remaining voluntarily on an acute unit can incur a charge of approximately NZ$900 a day. International students are required to have appropriate and current medical and travel insurance while studying in New Zealand as a condition of enrolment (including mental health as long as it is not a pre-existing condition); however, insurance cover is capped at NZ$2,000 so if students need access to in-patient services they must cover their own costs.

The needs of long term settled communities have been brought into focus with the launch of the Asian Health Chart Book (Ministry of Health, 2006a) which demonstrates the need to focus not only on new migrants but also on longer-term settled migrant Asian communities. Major differences in health and health service use between recent migrants and longstanding migrants show that recent or first generation migrants have better health status than longstanding migrants or the New Zealand born, demonstrating the acculturative effects of the dominant culture.

Mental health services: Sailing in a new direction

Mental health services are responding to new migrant populations to varying degrees. Following on from a report on the mental health of Asians in New Zealand (Ho et al., 2002) has been an increased responsiveness to the needs of those communities (Yee, 2003). Research activity, information provision, collaboration and Asian-focused operational activities and policy are some of the strategies that are being used by government agencies (Yee, 2003). Other developments that will assist in meeting this gap include the New Zealand Mental Health Classification and Outcomes study (Gaines, Bower, Buckingham et al., 2003), which includes a small number of Asians, and a planned mental health epidemiological survey which will also assist but is currently limited to the two largest Asian communities, Indian and Chinese. This section briefly reviews national, regional and local developments and initiatives.

Developing visibility and responsiveness in mental health services

Asian researchers (Lim & Walker, 2006; Tse, Bhui, Thapliyal et al., 2005) have outlined the legislative and policy frameworks that support culturally sensitive mental health service provision. These include The Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1995 and the Health and Disability Code of Rights 1996 which require that services acknowledge the needs of people from a range of cultures and provide for these needs while also protecting culturally diverse people from coercion, discrimination and exploitation. A culturally sensitive approach and acknowledgement of the person’s cultural and ethnic identity, language, and religious or ethical beliefs is also advocated in the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 and the 1999 amendments. In addition, one of the objectives of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 is that health outcomes be improved for Māori and other population groups through the reduction of health disparities. The Human Rights Act 1993 requires that mental health and addiction services do not unlawfully discriminate on the grounds of culture and ethnicity. Lastly, the Health Professional Competency Assurance Act 2003 requires practitioners to demonstrate cultural competence.

National mental health strategy and recovery

Te Tāhuhu – Improving Mental Health 2005-2015: The Second New Zealand Mental Health and Addiction Plan (Ministry of Health, 2005b) builds on the current Mental Health Strategy contained in

* Looking Forward: Strategic Directions for the Mental Health Services (Ministry of Health, 1994); * Moving Forward: The National Mental Health Plan for More and Better Services (Ministry of Health, 1997); and * The Mental Health Commission’s Blueprint for Mental Health Services in New Zealand: How Things Need to Be (Mental Health Commission, 1998).

Te Tāhuhu acknowledges that ‘there is no national strategy or policy to address the mental health issues of the full range of ethnic groups living in New Zealand. Building stronger relationships with people from diverse cultures and ethnic groups will be essential as we work towards developing strategies to address their particular needs’ (Ministry of Health, 2005b, p.37). Te Tāhuhu focuses on developing a comprehensive integrated mental health and addiction system that provides hope for developing a multicultural mental health agenda, compared to the other documents that make specific cultural mention of Māori and Pacific peoples but minimal reference to other groups. Te Tāhuhu emphasises early access to effective primary health care (a key entry point to mental health services for Asians), and an improved range and quality of specialist community based mental health and addiction services built on collaborative relationships (Ministry of Health, 2005b). It covers the spectrum of interventions from promotion/prevention to primary care to specialist services, and in particular the draft action plan (Ministry of Health, 2006b)

* acknowledges the presence not only of Asian peoples but also migrants and refugees, and the need for mental health services to be able to respond to the unique needs of all New Zealanders; * acknowledges the need for responsiveness to Asian peoples and other ethnic communities and refugee and migrant communities; * aims to build a quality mental health and addiction workforce that supports recovery, is person centered, and is culturally capable to deliver services for Asian peoples (that will require new skills and areas of specialised knowledge); * aims to strengthen the cultural capability of workers in mainstream services to work effectively with Asian, refugee and migrant populations through training programmes; * aims to increase the understanding of the mental health and addiction needs of Asian, ethnic, refugee and migrant communities through developing a profile of their mental health, and developing a mental health and addiction research agenda; * aims to implement national and local training for the mental health services workforce to work more effectively with them and use research evidence in service planning and delivery; and * aims to develop culturally responsive problem gambling intervention services for Asian peoples.

In addition, The Mental Health Commission’s Recovery Competencies for Mental Health Workers (O’Hagan, 2001) requires that a competent mental health worker acknowledges the different cultures of Aotearoa/New Zealand and knows how to provide a service in partnership with them. It suggests that every mental health and addiction service worker should demonstrate:

  • knowledge of diversity within Asian cultures;
  • knowledge of Asian culture, for example importance of family, religious traditions, duty, respect for authority, honour, shame and harmony;
  • the ability to articulate Asian views on health;
  • knowledge of traditional Asian treatments;
  • and the ability to involve Asian families, communities and service users in services.

In response to a report on Asian Public Health (Asian Public Health Project Team, 2003) the Mental Health Foundation have also created information sheets written in Chinese as a step towards meeting the mental health needs of Asians. They focus in particular on the mental health needs of Chinese adults and older Korean people. The emphasis on Chinese recognises that they comprise the largest of all Asian ethnic groups and the high number of Chinese international students in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland.

The potential of broader health policy

Developments in population based health policy offer promise in addressing barriers to accessing services by Asian communities. The New Zealand Health Strategy (NZHS) guides the development and provision of new services in the health and disability sector to improve the health of New Zealanders (Ministry of Health, 2000). Administered through District Health Boards (DHBs), the strategy aims to reduce inequalities in health status for Māori, Pacific peoples and people from lower socio-economic groups. It claims to focus on quality of service in order to ensure health outcomes are improved and health disparities reduced. There is scant reference to migrant health in the NZHS, other than a recommendation ‘to assess the health needs of refugees, asylum seekers and Asian immigrants’ (Ministry of Health, 2000, p.47) without any attempt to explain how this might be achieved.

A key strand of the NZHS involves improving responsiveness in the field of primary care. Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) have been established as ‘community-led’ organisations that guide the development of local services and their role defined in the Primary Health Care Strategy (Ministry of Health, 2001). The governance model is intended to involve local people in the planning and delivery of local primary health care services. This promotes the role of health workers as being to reduce health inequalities and address the causes of poor health status. Whilst accessibility, affordability and co-ordination are key, there is no mention of Asian and migrant populations in the strategy, which aligns with the NZHS focus on Māori, Pacific populations and lower socio-economic groups. The needs of Asian communities in New Zealand will need to be proactively considered given their projected population growth and evidence of different health needs to the wider population. Findings from the Asian Health Chart Book (Ministry of Health, 2006a) show that Asian people had positive health outcomes on a range of health indicators compared to the total New Zealand population. Of concern, however, was the lower usage of health services by the Asian population. The report provides a useful baseline on Asian health and it is hoped that it helps in identifying the health needs of Asian peoples in New Zealand and that it will be a tool for Asian communities themselves to advocate for appropriate health services.

Regional developments

The Northern Region Mental Health and Addictions Strategic Direction 2005-2010 (Northern DHB Support Agency & Network North Coalition, 2004) has two foci for its vision. The first is a specific focus on ‘equal opportunity to access quality services delivered in a culturally appropriate manner for refugee and recent Asian migrant clients and families’ and the second is ‘access to professionally trained and qualified interpreting services to meet the needs of migrant and refugees with experience of mental illness and their families’ (p.22). Recently a project was developed for training Asian interpreters and mental health practitioners who provide secondary mental health services for the diverse Asian immigrant population in the Auckland region, focussing on cultural competency and appropriate skills to work together effectively (Lim & Walker, 2006).

Local developments

At a local level, the twenty-one District Health Boards (DHBs) are responsible for deciding on the mix, level and quality of health and disability services to be provided for populations within government-set parameters. Some specialised mental health services, for example the ‘Refugees as Survivors’ (RAS) centres have been established, while others have developed ‘transcultural’ teams with clinicians who have an interest in the area or Asian mental health workers. Asian peer support workers are employed by consumer run organisations such as Mind and Body consultants to support Asian users of Auckland District Health Board Mental Health Services. There are also two Chinese consumers’ self-help groups: Bo Ai She and Yu Ai She. Community Alcohol and Drug services have two Chinese counsellors and non-governmental organisations (NGO) have begun responding to the needs of Asians by employing Chinese staff in community and family support roles such as Action for Mental Health Services, Supporting Families and Affinity. In the Auckland DHB there are two Asian community support workers with a focus on psychiatric rehabilitation. A great many of the developments have been in response to advocacy from ethnic community members and a desire to increase responsiveness to presenting clients.

Learning from the experience of Pacific peoples

There is much that newer migrant groups and mainstream services can learn from the experience of Pacific peoples, who are a diverse group representing over 20 different cultures. The largest group are Samoan making up 50% of Pacific peoples, followed by Cook Islanders (23%), Tongans (16%), Niueans (9%) Fijians (4%) and Tokelauans (2%) (self-identified; more than one response possible) (Mental Health Commission, 2001). A youthful population concentrated in the Auckland region with smaller numbers scattered throughout the country (Ministry of Health, 2005a), Pacific peoples make up 6% of the New Zealand population, which will rise to 12% by the year 2051. Pacific migration to New Zealand after the second world war increased as a result of growing industrialisation and demands for a manufacturing and service industry workforce (Spoonley, 2001). Large numbers of Pacific people migrated to urban areas of New Zealand, accelerating in the 1960s and early 1970s (Spoonley, 2001). The mid-1970s economic downturn led to many Pacific people losing their jobs. Unemployment, low income, poor housing, the breakdown of extended family networks, cultural fragmentation, and rising alcohol and drug problems have had a significant impact on the mental health of Pacific peoples, with rates of mental illness being generally higher among Pacific males and Pacific older people than the rest of the population (Ministry of Health, 2005a). However, Pacific peoples are a little less likely to use mental health services than any other group in New Zealand (Ministry of Health, 2005a).

Innovative health models such as the ‘Fonofale’ created by Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann (Crawley, Pulotu-Endemann, Stanley-Findlay & New Zealand Ministry of Health, 1995) have promoted holism and continuity. Similar to Durie’s (1994) Te Whare Tapa Wha, the Fonofale model uses the metaphor of a Pacific Island house and incorporates the values and beliefs of various Pacific Island groups. In addition, two key mechanisms have been advanced to improve social and economic outcomes for Pacific peoples. These are to improve ‘the responsiveness and accountability of public sector agencies to Pacific health needs and priorities, and to build the capacity of Pacific peoples, through provider, workforce and professional development, to deliver health and disability services and to develop their own solutions to health issues’ (Mental Health Commission, 2001, p.15). The key agencies in this task are The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, the Ministry of Health, District Health Boards and the Mental Health Commission. Other strategies are that services for Pacific peoples should: include Pacific views of mental health and wellbeing (which also includes all other aspects of health); take into account the relatively young Pacific population; acknowledge that there are isolated communities throughout New Zealand; consider the socioeconomic status of Pacific peoples; consider the diverse needs of New Zealand-born versus Island-born people and people of mixed ethnicity; and include the issue of alcohol and other drug use. In parallel, mainstream providers need to incorporate practices that properly address the above issues which will require building networks with Pacific organisations and groups able to advise on culturally acceptable methods of treatment (Mental Health Commission, 2001).

Conclusion: Exploring uncharted waters

Parts of the journey ahead are charted clearly. There are legislative and policy imperatives in place for mental health services to ensure that they are responsive in both policy and practice for ‘migrants, refugees and Asians’. How this is operationalised varies around the country but developments are promising, particularly in Auckland where the population of Asians is 12%. However, there are murky waters ahead that must be navigated. Further discussion is needed about the terms ‘migrants, refugees and Asians’ which are referred to in Te Tāhuhu and are an attempt at inclusion. The diversity contained within labels will have to be disentangled, so that the needs of the diverse people within labels such as ‘migrants, refugees and Asians’ are identified. Consideration must also be given to the needs of long term settled ethnic communities and international students, both of whom are neglected. Diving even deeper, the intersection of ethnicity, religion and socioeconomic status needs exploration. Consideration also needs to be given to how we work with the ‘buzz words’ such as cultural safety, cultural capability, cultural awareness and cultural competence and how they sit together (DeSouza, 2004b, 2006; Wood, Bradley & DeSouza, 2004).

Finally, a more strategic response to New Zealand’s changing demographics is required as until now the majority of developments have been ad hoc, reactive and operational, based on lobbying from ethnic community groups and non-governmental organisations such that responses are geared to our current situation rather than our future. It is necessary to address the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in the context of how multiculturalism is to be accommodated. Some see biculturalism as an obstacle to the acknowledgement of a more diverse society; however, I suggest that multiculturalism through biculturalism remains a possible solution that has been under-explored and under-operationalised. Future developments in Asian, migrant and refugee health need to heed the unique status of Māori and learn from the experiences of Pacific peoples, who have charted these waters already and know the currents and prevailing winds.

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New spaces and possibilities: The adjustment to parenthood for new migrant mothers

DeSouza, R. (2006). New spaces and possibilities: The adjustment to parenthood for new migrant mothers. Wellington, New Zealand.

I recently completed a report for the Families Commission about migrant maternity, based on interviews with new mothers in Auckland and with the help of Plunket and many colleagues (see the acknowledgements in the report).

Parenthood and migration are both major life events which, while stressful, can be mediated effectively with appropriate support. International research indicates that parenting in a new country without support, networks or access to information creates additional stressors.

There is a paucity of research about the transition to parenthood in New Zealand for migrant families and this research project explores the maternity experiences of women from five different migrant backgrounds. It is a starting point for further research about migrant families and the development of a migrant family life-cycle research agenda.

Forty migrant women were interviewed about their experiences of the adjustment to parenthood in a new country in order to ascertain their support needs. Early motherhood was chosen as a focus because migration policy selects healthy women and therefore the maternity experience is often when many migrant women are first initiated into the New Zealand health system. In consultation with Plunket, five groups were chosen for the study; three were from the largest Asian communities, Chinese, Indian and Korean (Chinese make up 44 percent of all Asians, Indians 26 percent and Koreans 8 percent). Two other new migrant groups were also selected for inclusion for different reasons. European migrant women were chosen because they are the largest migrant group yet little is known about their needs. These are assumed to be similar to those of other Pa-keha- because of their familiarity with language and systems. Arab Muslim women were chosen because their faith and cultural needs are not well understood. One focus group was undertaken for each group. AUT University’s Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research and the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society conducted the research together in March 2006.

KEY FINDINGS

It is hoped that the research findings will inform policy, the development of appropriate resources and other research in this area, and will assist both health professionals and migrant communities in New Zealand. The key findings of the research were that:

  • migrant women lose access to information resources, such as family and friends, in the process of migrating and come to depend on their husbands, health professionals and other authoritative sources. Importantly, the expectations from their country of origin come to inform their experiences of pregnancy, labour and delivery in a new country
  • migration has an impact on women’s and their partners’ roles in relation to childbirth and parenting. The loss of supportive networks incurred in migration results in husbands and partners taking more active roles in the perinatal period
  • coming to a new country can result in the loss of knowledge resources, peer and family support and protective rituals. These losses can lead to isolation for many women.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The findings of the research suggest that:

  • support services for women who have a baby in a new country need to be developed and services also need to be ‘father-friendly’
  • the information needs of migrant women from all backgrounds need to be considered in planning service delivery (including European migrant women)
  • services need to develop linguistic competence to better support migrant mothers, for example by providing written information in their own language
  • those developing antenatal resources must consider the needs of migrant mothers; for example, by having antenatal classes available in a number of common languages, eg Korean
  • workforce development occurs among health professionals to expand existing cultural safety training to incorporate cultural competence
  • health and social services staff must become better informed as to the resources that are available if they are to provide effective support for migrant mothers.

FUTURE RESEARCH

Further research is required to:

  • explore the experiences of New Zealand-born women to identify whether the issues raised in this report are peculiar to migrant women or to women in general
  • explore the information needs of migrant parents through the family life-cycle
  • identify the factors that support breastfeeding in the absence of social support
  • understand the experiences of migrant father
  • understand the needs of additional migrant groups, including African, Middle-Eastern and Latin American communities
  • review the effectiveness of cultural safety for migrant women by focusing on outcomes.
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Shifting Out the Sweetness: Migrant Motherhood in New Zealand

DeSouza, R. (2007). Sifting out the sweetness: Migrant motherhood in New Zealand. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Reproduction, Childbearing and Motherhood: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (pp. 239-251). New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Abstract

Migration leads to transformation, willingly or unwillingly, for both the migrant and the receiving society. The changes that result can be superficial or visible; for example, cuisine or more subtle and private, such as identities. In considering motherhood in a new country, women are challenged with an opportunity to reshape their identity, from viewing their culture as static with fixed boundaries and members to fluid, pliable, negotiated and renegotiated through interactions with others. The pluralising of identities that accompanies migrant motherhood is brought to the fore with migrant women having to sift and reclaim aspects of culture that may have been lost, preserve memories of cultural practices, transmit, maintain or discard traditional perinatal practices and  choose new practices. In addition, there may be old and new authority figures in the shape of midwives or mothers to appease. This chapter provides an overview of how women originating from Goa, India who had babies in New Zealand actively considered their past, present and future in terms of cultural maintenance and reclamation during the perinatal period. The history of Goan colonisation as a catalyst for dispersal had already led to the modification of cultural practices. The development of plural identities and the strategic utilization of cultural resources new and old are examined, as is the potential to apply notions of cultural safety to migrant health. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of plural identities for health services and workforce development in New Zealand.

Introduction

At no other time in their lives do women get bombarded and overwhelmed with more information and advice, which is frequently unsolicited, as when they are pregnant and have babies. As a nurse working on a post-natal ward many years ago, I remember meeting a vibrant and loving couple, who said their strategy for managing the mountain of advice, was to “sift out the sweetness.” This sifting process is doubly significant for migrant women who have a baby in a new country. They must sift between their own cultural practices and those of the receiving communities. For many, it involves reclaiming long forgotten practices especially if they are separated from their traditional knowledge sources. In turn, there is an opportunity for receiving societies and their systems to sift through their practices and consider ones brought by immigrants to see if there are opportunities for improvement and innovation.

This chapter focuses on a study of women from the Goan/Indian community in Auckland, New Zealand and discusses how women manage the dual transition of motherhood and migration while separated from networks and supports. A brief history of New Zealand demographics, migration and policy is given, followed by an overview of Goan migration. A description of the study that took place follows including the theoretical standpoint and social and cultural context. The findings of the study are then discussed, focusing on how women negotiated their cultural identities. The chapter concludes with an overview of implications for social care and health professionals.

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The ultimate engagement of life: Being mentally healthy

Published in (2007) Asian Magazine, 4.

I came across a wonderful definition of health by Jesse Williams in 1928 the other day in a book that I was reading. Williams defines health as being “the optimal condition of being that allows for the ultimate engagement of life.” To me this is what being healthy is about, being in the best condition to fully take part in life. I have had a long passion in the issue of migration and settlement and in particular the impact on health and specifically mental health. We know that migration is a risky business that also has the potential to transform, so how can we maintain our mental health and go beyond maintenance to optimal health and engaging fully with life? What are the factors that help or hinder being ultimately engaged with life and what can we do about them? In this article I’d like to share my professional, personal and research findings with you from work I did with Goan women living in Auckland some years ago [1].

Migration offers the potential of a new and better life, otherwise why would anyone migrate for a worse life? Yet sometimes this is what unexpectedly happens. We are so focussed on the wonderful future and the leaving, but not so much on the arrival. Without our usual “soft places to fall” as Dr Phil terms it, our support networks, our fulfilling work, migrants can end up with migrant’s remorse!

It was the first time we had been on our own before, in Bombay you’ve always got family to help you and you’ve got everything ready made, so you never know what hardship is until you come here (Flora).

When there is a big gap between our hopes and expectations and the reality the disillusionment can be too much to bear. When the job that is going to be the foundation of the new life doesn’t materialise and the income doesn’t match the sacrifices, it can seem like things are going down hill fast. There is a cumulative impact of all these disappointments that can result in feeling overwhelmed and worn out. So when do ups and downs become something you should pay attention to? In my experience, it is best to ask for help from those around you when you feel like you are not coping and managing as well as you would like to be or know that you usually can. Help-seeking is something that many of us find difficult to do. Whether it is pride or the shame of admitting we cannot manage on our own. What I know for sure though is that when we have exhausted our own resources we should ask for help because things don’t tend to get better by themselves and sometimes they get worse when we do nothing. So start by talking to people that you trust, family or friends and keep talking and asking until you get what you need. If you have a faith community tap into its resources. Talk to your General Practitioner and ask for referral to a counsellor or mental health service. I remember talking to a man with a gambling problem that had become depressed, he said “what is the point of going to talk about my problems, I need financial help!” The answer is that there are a range of things that have contributed to how you feel and equally there are a range of things that will help, from going for a walk to talking to someone to getting budgetary advice. There is not going to be just one magical solution.

So what if you are reading this and thinking, I am fine, I just get down sometimes. Here are four strategies that Goan women used to help them maintain their mental health.

Developing a new support network New Zealand researchers [2] have found that support is one of four important factors for successful settlement. Support makes coping with daily living, acquiring language and employment (the three other factors) easier to acquire. Support also helps you manage stress by reducing how big you see the stress and helping to reduce the severity of your reaction to it [3]. Participants in my research study found that having contact with family, friends and other migrants was crucial and that by volunteering, joining their faith community and having access to support through e-mail the stresses of migration and settlement were minimised. It is important to make sure that you connect with people outside your faith or ethnic group too.

Having a “can do” attitude The term ‘pioneer spirit’ is often used to refer to migrants. The attitude of coping with things in the present because they will get better in the future if you make it work is part of the migrant dream. T some degree pragmatism and philosophical acceptance are necessary for survival and essential:

You just couldn’t pick a flight and go, you’ve resigned your job, you’ve spent half your savings to come here and you know there’s no turning back so you have to make the most of this. So it’s like there’s no turning back, but you think, ‘God what have I done’ (Flora).

As Arisaka says [4] “This almost non-negotiable drive for upward mobility requires diligent assimilation. Self-pity, victim consciousness, and separationist self-consciousness are deadly to the process towards success. Not only are they excessively self-indulgent, but they are also a waste of time and energy, and therefore not allowed”. I think that this can also be a trap and that again it is important to ask for help when you need it. You don’t get extra points at the end of your life for having done it the hard way!

Learning There are two ways of learning that assist with settlement one is the  ‘culture learning approach’ where you adapt  by overcoming every day cross-cultural problems by learning new culture specific skills that assist you to navigate the new cultural environment [5]and the other is by inoculation or anticipatory preparation [6, 7] which helps the transition experience , where a previous visit or some similar kind of preparation where you gain culturally specific knowledge and skills prior to migration can be a great help.

Lastly, maintaining cultural links was used to make sense of the migration and settlement experience and maintaining wellbeing. The loss and separation that can occur with migration can be lessened to some degree by holding on to familiar and trusted values and keeping ties [8]. Keeping a connection with ‘the familiar’ helps lessen the dislocation and challenges that resulted from being in ‘the unfamiliar”. This can be done by attending community events or even going back to the place of origin, for the benefit of children as well:

It’s important not to get carried away by the western thing, to keep taking them back to their roots if you can afford it because I think that priority has really made the difference for us (Sheila).

There are many ways to manage a new life in a new country. Each one of us has to find a combination of ways that are going to work for us. I hope this has give you some ideas about how you can not only survive the transition to life in a new country but thrive as well so that you can be in optimal condition to enjoy your new life fully.

References

  1. DeSouza, R., Walking upright here: Countering prevailing discourses through reflexivity and methodological pluralism. 2006, Auckland, NZ: Muddy Creek Press.
  2. Ho, E., et al., Settlement assistance needs of recent migrants. 2000, University of Waikato: Waikato.
  3. Kearns, R.A., et al., Social support and psychological distress before and after childbirth. Health and Social Care in the Community, 1997. 5(5): p. 296-308.
  4. Arisaka, Y., Asian women: Invisibility, locations, and claims to philosophy, in Women of color and philosophy: A critical reader, N. Zack, Editor. 2000, Blackwell Publishers: Malden, Mas. p. 219-223.
  5. Ward, C., S. Bochner, and A. Furnham, The psychology of culture shock. Second edition ed. 2001, Hove, East Sussex: Routledge.
  6. Meleis, A.I., et al., Experiencing transitions: an emerging middle-range theory. Advances in Nursing Science, 2000. 23(1): p. 12-28.
  7. Weaver, G., Understanding and coping with cross-cultural adjustment stress, in Culture, communication and conflict: readings in intercultural relations, G. Weaver, Editor. 1994, Gin Press: USA. p. 169-191.
  8. Vasta, E., Gender, class and ethnic relations: the domestic and work experiences of Italian migrant women in Australia, in Intersexions; gender, class, culture, ethnicity, G. Bottomley, M.D. Lepervanche, and J. Martin, Editors. 1991, Allen and Unwin: Sydney.
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Becoming informed health care consumers: Asian migrant mothers in NZ

Presented at the Prevention, protection and promotion. Second International Asian Health and Wellbeing Conference, November 11,2006.

Cite as: DeSouza, R. (2006). Becoming informed health care consumers: Asian migrant mothers in New Zealand. In S. Tse, M.E. Hoque, K. Rasanathan, M. Chatterji, R. Wee, S. Garg, & Y. Ratnasabapathy (Eds.), Prevention, protection and promotion. Proceedings of the Second International Asian Health and Wellbeing Conference, November 11, 13-14, (pp. 196-207). Auckland, New Zealand: University of Auckland.

Abstract
A central tenet of New Zealand’s midwifery and maternity services is the emphasis on a partnership between two equals namely the midwife and the woman. However, such a partnership rests on the notion of an informed consumer who is independent. When the consumer is a migrant who has experienced social upheaval, lost their knowledge resources and is experiencing isolation and language barriers, they may take up a more dependent role rather than the autonomous and self-determining consumer that midwives are prepared for. This imbalance can mean that health professionals are challenged to take up less facilitative and more authoritative positions and in turn migrant mothers and their partners are challenged to develop more proactive roles. This paper presents partial and preliminary findings from a qualitative study of Asian mothers in New Zealand with regard to their information needs.

Introduction
The notion of a partnership between the midwife and the woman underpins New Zealand midwifery models, where both parties are equal and make equally valuable contributions (Pairman, 2001). Midwives bring their knowledge, skills and experience and the woman brings her knowledge of herself and her family and her needs and wishes for her pregnancy and birth. However, for women become equal partners, they need to make informed decisions about their health and this in turn depends on having access to relevant and timely information. For mothers, biological knowledge about the pregnancy, birth and labour is only one form of knowledge. In addition, social knowledge and institutional knowledge are important (Lazarus, 1994). While biological knowledge can be obtained from authoritative sources like experts and electronic resources, social and institutional knowledge are more difficult to access for migrant women. AS access to these forms of knowledge is dependent on context and social networks which migrant mothers often lose in the social upheaval of migration. For many women who migrate, the separation from family and peers leads to ‘breaks in knowledge’ (Fitzgerald et al., 1998) and the loss of these knowledge resources which help prepare the mother for the processes of pregnancy, childbirth and parenting, creates what Liem (1999, p.157) calls a “vacuum of knowledge”. The vacuum of knowledge needs to be filled and most often this role falls heavily on health professionals (DeSouza, 2005).

This paper begins with a description of the dramatic population changes in New Zealand with a particular focus on Asian women. A discussion about receiving accurate and timely information follows suggesting that the quality of communication between women and their carers is critical for feeling safe and satisfied with care. An outline of research conducted in Auckland New Zealand follows and the findings are presented through the transition to parenthood. Strategies for managing the transition to parenthood and becoming an informed consumer are discussed with the paper concluding with practice, policy and research recommendations.

Literature Review
The following section contextualises the study by reviewing the changing demographics in New Zealand society with a focus on Asian women. This is followed by a discussion about the link between information and communication and satisfaction with care for migrants.

An increasingly diverse New Zealand
Service providers need to develop skills and competence for working effectively with diverse members of New Zealand society. International trends show that people of diverse racial, ethno-cultural and language backgrounds are underserved by health and social services, experience unequal burdens of disease, experience cultural and language barriers to accessing appropriate health care, and receive a lower quality of care when they do access health care services in comparison with members of the population (Johnstone & Kanitsaki, 2005). The 2001 Census revealed growing numbers of M␣ori (14.5%), Pacific Island people (5.6%), Chinese (2.2%) and Indian (1.2%), in addition to European/Pakeha who make up 79.6% of the population. There has been a 20% increase in the number of multilingual people and an increase in people whose religion was non-Christian. People who practice Hinduism increased by 56%, there was a 48% increase in Buddhists and a 74% of people practising Islam.

Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group; increasing by around 140% over the last ten years and predicted to increase by 122% by 2021 due to net migration gains rather than high fertility rates (Statistics New Zealand, 2005). The Asian community has the highest proportion of women (54%), (Scragg & Maitra, 2005) who are most highly concentrated in the working age group of 15-64 years compared to other ethnic groups, a reflection of a skills focused migration policy. 23% of New Zealand women were born overseas, predominantly in the UK and Ireland, Asia and the Pacific Islands. Some of the most dramatic demographic changes are evident in the Asian community, for example in the period between 1991 and 2001, the number of women originating from the Republic of Korea increased 23 times from 408 to 9,354, numbers of women from China quadrupled from 4,620 to 20,457 and women from South Asia doubled in the same time period (Statistics New Zealand, 2005). Such diversity has been unprecedented and present both unique challenges and opportunities to health and social service providers and policy makers.

Communication, caring and safety
Migration often results in the loss of reference points in the form of family networks, peer support and familiarity with health services. Such a loss amplifies the necessity for receiving accurate and timely information. Davies and Bath (2001) suggest that information provision during pregnancy and childbirth is critical for both supporting choices that are made but also in preparing women to manage uncertain outcomes. Citing a study by Kirkham (1989), Davies and Bath argue that women’s satisfaction with maternity services in secondary care is primarily dependent on the quality of communication between the women and their carers. Little is known about the health care experiences of migrant women, however, they are thought to report more acute concerns about communication and sensitivity of care than the population in general (Davies & Bath, 2001). Furthermore, language barriers can exacerbate isolation and promote dependency on health workers rather than enhancing self- determination, a dominant midwifery discourse. Small, Rice, Yelland, & Lumley (1999) found that Vietnamese, Turkish and Filipino women in Melbourne who were not fluent English speakers experienced problems in communicating with their caregivers and this made experiences of care less positive. Of more importance than knowledge about cultural practices, was care experienced as unkind, rushed, and unsupportive. Another Australian study found that migrant patients (and their families) did not feel safe when in hospital. Safety was undermined when effective communication with caregivers was compromised through being unable to access qualified health interpreters or being unable to have family members around to advocate and participate in decision-making (Johnstone & Kanitsaki, 2005).

The study
Migrants tend to maintain better health than the local population initially so often have little to do with hospitals (McDonald & Kennedy, 2004), but motherhood is a common aspect of migration requiring contact with the health system. The study took place in Auckland, New Zealand among White migrants (from South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States of America), Muslim Arab migrants (from Iraq and Palestine) and Asian women from three ethnic communities (Korean, Chinese and Indian) as part of a larger Families Commission funded study. Ethics approval was obtained from the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee and the Plunket Ethics Committee. Participants for the migrant mothers’ focus group were recruited though Plunket nurses who invited women to participate, selection criteria limited participation to migrant women who had become mothers within the last 12 months in New Zealand. Informed consent was obtained from all participants and consent forms were translated into Arabic, Korean and Chinese. Data collection involved focus groups using semi-structured interviews conducted in English, Chinese and Korean. The groups were facilitated by interviewers proficient in English and the language spoken by the women. These interviews were recorded and transcribed, translated into English if necessary and verified by an independent translator. The interview transcripts were then coded and analysed. The codes were clustered according to similarity and reduced. Similar phenomena were grouped into categories and named. The process was one of constant comparison, iteratively classifying and grouping the material to identify preliminary categories and sub- categories. This paper reports on a sub-theme about information needs and the findings focus on Asian women.

Findings
Midwives caring for migrant Asian parents are challenged to reconfigure their model of partnership and in turn migrant Asian parents experience a shift from birth being a social event to more of an individual responsibility. This shift requires a more proactive and self- sufficient role for women and their husbands, who become more involved than they might have been in their country of origin. In addition, language and communication drive experiences of care. This separation from knowledge resources places greater responsibility onto midwives to assume a more central role in information provision and support. In particular migrant mothers require detailed, individualised, stage specific information in order to take up the role of informed consumer.

Antenatal period
Not only are migrant mothers confronted with changing bodies and roles when they become pregnant, they also have to deal with an unfamiliar health system in the absence of a support network and knowledge resources they might have had in their countries of origin. In this study, Asian migrant women had to make decisions that required access to information in order to ascertain the choice of maternity carer and access to ante-natal classes. At this time women who were not fluent or confident English speakers had to contend with linguistic and cultural barriers to accessing services.

The loss of traditional sources of knowledge meant that pregnancy in a new country moved from being a social event and responsibility to being an individual one (DeSouza, 2005). This required the participants to become more involved and proactive in seeking out detailed, timely and specific information about the stages of their pregnancy. This allowed them to become more involved in the pregnancy than if they had been in their country of origin where this responsibility would have been shared. Husbands also became more involved in the processes of pregnancy, than they might have been in their countries of origin. Knowing where to begin the process was difficult:

I had no idea at all about the system here. It was through the pregnancy test kit that I found out I was pregnant, but did not know what the next step was. I wondered whether I had to show my test result to my GP. I had no knowledge of how to get the necessary information [Korean participant].

Obtaining language specific and precise information was important for many Korean women. Being given broad encouragement was not a substitute for specific information and was perceived as a laissez-fare attitude to their wellbeing.

I was given some information, but I didn’t read it, as it was not in Korean. I always felt that I was one step behind. It was not only the midwife who did not give enough information or necessary support. Everyone kept saying, “It is okay, you are doing well” but gave few information or specific support [Korean participant].

Pregnancy in a new country raised the need to develop active decision making strategies and to choose a health care provider. Many of the women were proactive about finding out about the New Zealand health system and turned to authoritative sources for information:

Luckily, I was attending school and the assignment from school was to complete a project. I chose ‘New Zealand’s maternity system’ and that was how I got some ideas about my situation [Korean participant].

For some women the absence of family members and the access to information meant that they could monitor themselves through the stages of pregnancy and this led to developing increased knowledge and greater self-sufficiency:

I have to take care of my own self. I found this good thing in New Zealand that you should take care of the baby and you should be aware of foods and what is going on each and every month, each and every week, what really is important [Indian participant].

One Indian woman found that she was more engaged in her pregnancy because her previous pregnancy was a joint responsibility with other family members while this time round she had to take more personal responsibility:

Why didn’t I get the feelings the first time? Time passed with families, mother in law, sisters, brothers and time passed like anything but here we are alone,  thinking about the baby early and so every moment for me was a first time moment, even though I’m a second time mother [Indian participant].

Many husbands become more involved during the pregnancy and were more in tune with what was happening to their partner’s bodies:

We used to wake up and the first thing we used to do was take a book and read ‘Okay, so now our baby’s doing that’ and he will pat me on my tummy saying ‘Oh my little one’ you know? So I doubt whether the same feeling would have come if my pregnancy was in India [Indian participant].

Language dictated the choice of LMC for many Chinese women and they, more than any other cohort, relied on their networks to find a care provider with Chinese newspapers also being a useful knowledge resource.

She speaks English and can speak Chinese. After I met her, I had a good impression of her. So I decided to have her as my midwife. My midwife has a partner who is also a Chinese (Malaysian Chinese). When I gave birth to my child, her partner delivered my child. The whole process was quite smooth [Chinese participant].

Antenatal classes
Antenatal classes were a pivotal mechanism for acquiring knowledge:

When you know something it’s better than just going without knowledge and you’re worried. , Yeah and as a first time mother I didn’t really know what was going to happen or what to expect and then yeah, I learnt a lot from that [Indian participant].

And for gaining confidence about what was to come by having some broad knowledge about what was to come:

I felt it was not so relevant to my delivery. But I felt more at ease and more confident during delivery. There are Chinese people in the class. The midwife was also careful when teaching us. We could understand her. My husband’s English is very good. He escorted me to the class. It was about some basic ideas. I didn’t find it useful for my delivery. During delivery, you follow the instructions of your midwife and have no time to reflect on what was taught in the class. But you feel relieved and less anxious. You roughly know what is going to happen and what is what [Chinese participant].

But language barriers made classes inaccessible for some:

I felt frustrated because I could not understand everything [Korean participant].

Both my husband and I have poor English so only attended once [Korean participant].

This section highlighted the importance of receiving detailed and specific information in one’s own language and how this influences the choice of LMC or attendance at ante-natal classes. Knowing where to start can be difficult. For women and their husbands who want to take up an informed consumer role there are resources available which lead women and their husbands to be more self-sufficient, proactive and engaged in the process.

Labour and delivery
Labour and delivery was also a time when information, support and cultural needs were highlighted. Women wanted information that was specific to their stage of labour and that was individualised (some felt they had too much and others too little information to feel that they could make the best choice for themselves). The value of specific stage by stage information was supported by a Korean participant rather than broad encouragement:

In Korea mums are given lots of warning and feedback of what is happening during labour, and told by Dr’s what to do regularly. This was missing in NZ. It would be good to be given feedback of our progress of labour and how many cm we are at each stage after the vaginal examinations. I was not told this. Not enough explanation and only told that “You are doing well” [Korean participant].

The need for not only specific information but also to be told the best option or given enough information to make the best choice was also voiced. The facilitative role of health providers was called into question with some participants wanting a more authoritative role. The partnership between the midwife and the woman underpins the midwifery model in New Zealand maternity services and is based on equity and the acknowledgement that both parties make equally valuable contributions (Pairman, 2001). Midwives bring their knowledge, skills and experience and the woman brings her knowledge of herself and her family and her needs and wishes for her pregnancy and birth. Midwives have moved from authoritative sources of knowledge to models of partnership and collaboration in a bid to empower women and distinguish themselves from the more hierarchical professional models of medical, nursing and obstetric practise (Tully, Daellenbach, & Guilliland, 1998). However, this is predicated on the notion of the informed consumer:

In NZ different delivery options are given to mums and we are asked to choose by ourselves but unable to choose the best options for ourselves due to lack of sufficient knowledge. Want more advice and guidance and even want to be told which better option for us is. So in the end we have limited options due to not enough knowledge of all the pros and cons of delivery methods [Korean participant].

Information does need to be individualised, one participant who felt that she was given too much information:

During the labour the ladies said that I need an epidural because I can’t go through the pain anymore, the anaesthetist comes in the room and says out of 150 million there are 10% of cases with risk all that information beforehand [Indian Participant].

This section has highlighted the importance of detailed and specific information and the need for information to be individualised. The midwifery model of care which emphasises facilitative rather than authoritative relationships was challenged.

Post-partum
The postnatal period is a critical time for women but it is also a time when their needs are often not met (Baker, Choi, Henshaw, & Tree, 2005). In the postpartum, information needs were an issue, women needed to know how to handle an unpredictable and unknown baby, there were issues around feeding from a cultural point of view and what to feed and when, the amount and type of information became important too:

We need more information. Iron deficiency for example. We don’t know what to feed our babies for this. And solid feeding too. We don’t know how to begin solid feeding with Korean food. The information is only on Kiwi way of feeding [Korean participant].
I didn’t even know how to care for her after delivering baby. No knowledge. Had to cook and clean and do everything after delivering baby , had no one to help. Breastfeeding was hard, received no help. Got sore bones and joints. No Korean appropriate services available, so often missed out altogether on information and the right kind of help [Korean participant].

However, not everyone wanted to be an informed consumer:

Yeah, you just want to get out of that place and these people are giving you like the advantages and disadvantages of various things, you don’t want to hear all these things [Indian participant].

The post-partum period highlights the need for the expansion of the information agenda from New Zealand models of infant feeding to incorporating other cultural models and the need for language specific information about breastfeeding. Some women contested the pressure to be informed consumers. The following section provides some discussion and recommendations.

Discussion

This section focuses on five key areas where further exploration and consideration by both migrant mothers and health professionals would be beneficial, namely:

  • Providing detailed and individualised information;
  • Language support;
  • Preparing women for new discourses of maternity;
  • Developing fluency; and
    Developing health literacy.

Providing detailed and individualised information

Health-care providers have a responsibility to make available, accessible and up-to-date information. However this is not as easy as it sounds, when facilitating informed choice. Midwives and other health professionals are caught in a difficult position and have to strike other balances, such as between giving enough information for the woman to make a choice but not giving too much information and frightening her (Levy, 2006). They also have to delicately meet the needs of women and to appear neutral in their advice, when they might have strong feelings regarding certain issues. In this study, migrant mothers looked to health professionals to fill the vacuum of knowledge by being authoritative rather than facilitative. Increasingly research shows that information is more effective when it is tailored to the individual and their needs (Rapport et al., 2006) and relevant to the women’s current stage of pregnancy (Benn, Budge, & White, 1999). In addition detailed information rather than ‘big picture’ was valued. Therefore highlighting the need for individualised and detailed information when planning for the provision of maternity information (Soltani & Dickinson, 2005). Information that is available in ones own language or written information is important. While translated information is available about childbirth in New Zealand from the Maternity Services Consumer Council of New Zealand it is not clear how well this information is distributed or whether LMCs are aware of its existence.

Language support
Communication as a part of information support can be improved through implementing a two pronged strategy. First, health professionals and systems can become more skilful at information provision through linguistic competence and secondly through identifying and assisting in the extension of sources of information. Health providers can assist new migrants to identify information sources and encourage women to develop information seeking skills. Developing linguistic and cultural competence can be achieved by:

  • Providing bilingual /bicultural staff;
  • Providing foreign language interpreting services; Having link workers/advocates; and     Having materials developed and tested for specific cultural, ethnic, and linguistic
    groups;
  • Having translation services including those of:Legally binding documents (for example, consent forms); Hospital signage; Health education materials; and Public awareness materials and campaigns, including ethnic media in languages other than English. Examples include television, radio, internet, newspapers and periodicals (Szczepura, 2005).

In the USA, health care organisations are required to both offer and provide language services such as bilingual staff and interpreter servicesat no extra cost to clients who require it. It is recommended that information about services is provided both in writing and in a timely manner with credentialed interpreters and bilingual workers available (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2003).

Lastly, research is needed to assess the level of unmet information needs among new migrant women in greater depth. To borrow from a recommendation from a recent study:
Research is needed on cross-cultural and intercultural communication in particular on the nature and impact on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) people not being able to communicate with service providers; not being able to get information and explanations about ‘what is going on’; not being able to get information in a timely manner; not being given information in a culturally appropriate manner; not being given any information at all; being given too much information; being given unwanted information (Johnstone & Kanitsaki, 2005, p.15).

Preparing women for new discourses of maternity
The study findings highlight the need for health providers to assist women socialise into new discourses in particular the discourse of partnership and the informed consumer. A useful mechanism for socialising women into an informed consumer discourse is to provide multi- lingual antenatal classes. Many women in this study felt the need for specific and detailed information in order to make the best choice but some women also wanted to be told the best option. The facilitative role of health providers was called into question with some participants wanting their LMC to have a more authoritative style. The partnership model underpinning midwifery in New Zealand maternity services assumes that midwives bring their knowledge, skills and experience and women brings their knowledge of themselves and their families to the relationship. This is intended to be a collaborative and empowering relationship but it requires that the woman wants the responsibility of being an informed consumer. It appears that the notion of partnership cannot contain women who don’t want the equal responsibility that is required. In addition, one needs to be information literate in order to take this role on (Henwood, Wyatt, Hart, & Smith, 2003).

Developing fluency
Lack of English language proficiency impacts on access to health care, employment prospects, income levels and other factors which determine health status (Asian Public Health Project Team, 2003).The link between language and accessing health care is further strengthened by the findings of a New Zealand study where self-rated fair or poor health was found to be associated with Chinese-only reading knowledge, residency of more than five years and regretting having come to New Zealand (Abbott, Wong, Williams, Au, & Young, 2000). While a study of Chinese American women which found that lack of English language ability was a major barrier to access (Liang, Yuan, Mandelblatt, & Pasick, 2004). Ensuring that migrants are aware of Language line and encouraging them to take up their English for Migrants language courses, as proficiency is a key settlement enhancer. The migrant levy that migrants pay when coming to New Zealand entitles migrants to take up English language classes (English for Migrants). The Tertiary Education Commission pays for English language tuition on behalf of migrants to New Zealand who have pre-paid for their training, recent news reports indicate that few migrants take up these classes.

Developing health literacy
The development of health literacy among health care recipients is gaining prominence as a health promotion strategy. Health literacy is defined by the World Health Organisation as “ the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information in ways that promote and maintain good health” (World Health Organization, 1998, p.10). Health literacy is a stronger predictor of health status than socio-economic status, age, or ethnic background (Speros, 2005). Speros claims that the lack of health literacy can act as a barrier to navigating the system and functioning successfully as a consumer, presumably then the combination of socio-economic status, ethnic background and low health literacy compound the issues of access. Speros cites a large study by Williams et al. (1995) which found that one-third of English -speaking patients at two public hospitals in the USA could not read and understand basic health-related materials. Sixty per cent could not understand a routine consent form, 26% could not understand information written on an appointment slip, and 42% failed to comprehend directions for taking medications. While little is known about health literacy is known in New Zealand, overseas research suggests that being culturally and linguistically different magnifies the problem.

Conclusion
This study highlights the importance of information provision for health care consumers, in particular migrant mothers. The study shows that migrant women frequently experience a vacuum of knowledge that needs to be filled. Factors such as poor English language proficiency, limited networks and unresponsive health providers can all increase the likelihood of migrant mothers experiencing a problematic birth experience and poor outcomes. This research suggests that improving the quality and range of information for migrant mothers and the inter-cultural resources for health providers could improve outcomes.

Further research is needed into how maternity information is provided and it is suggested that more attention is paid to the information needs of migrant mothers and migrants in general. Language proficiency is vital not only with regard to access to services but also for being empowered and prepared for the dual transition of parenthood in a new country. The study highlights the need for further exploration of changing demographics on dominant health care discourses in New Zealand such as partnership and whether there is space for new discourses. There are several aspects that contribute to a satisfying experience of health care for migrant mothers and these appear to be the ability to access a service, being able to obtain relevant information and having a supportive relationship between themselves and providers. These appear to be mutually dependent factors.

Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by grants from The Families Commission and the Plunket Society volunteers in Central Auckland. The following people are gratefully acknowledged for their contributions: The mothers, Elaine Macfarlane, Sheryl Orton, Michele Hucker, Dr Wanzhen Gao, Rose Joudi, Paula Foreman, Rezwana Nazir, Lorna Wong, Jane Vernon, Zahra Maleki, Nagiba Mohamed, Hyeeun Kim, Catherine Hong and Stephanie Shennan.

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Pregnant with possibility: Migrant motherhood in New Zealand

First published in Mindnet  Issue 6 – Winter 2006

When my family arrived in New Zealand in 1975 there were very few people from Goa living here. We quickly got know every Goan in the country and, in hindsight, this connection provided me with an early interest in and focus on both maternal mental health and migrant mental health. Two Goan women we knew developed mental health problems that were devastating for themselves and their families. For one, it led to suicide and for another a lifelong history of mental illness and loss. Hardly good outcomes! This was a time when it was hard to maintain our culture. Thankfully, the more recent shift in focus to encompass settlement rather than just immigration will further enhance the well-being of ethnic communities in New Zealand.

There are still large research, policy and practice gaps in the area of migrant motherhood, which I’d like to address in this article. I’d like to start by highlighting the significance of migrant motherhood, which has potentially long term and wide ranging impacts on members of a family. I’ll then talk about the changing demographics of New Zealand society and suggest that health workers need to broaden their focus for working with New Zealand’s increasing diversity and develop culturally safe ways of working with migrants and their families. Lastly, I’ll share my experiences of research with migrant mothers from different ethno-cultural communities.

When migrants “cross borders they also cross emotional and behavioural boundaries. Becoming a member of a new society stretches the boundaries of what is possible because one’s life and roles change, and with them, identities change as well. Boundaries are crossed when new identities and roles are incorporated into life” (Espín, 1997, p.445). Border crossing can involve trauma related to migration and a psychic split (Mohamed & Smith, 1999).

Migration policies favour women (and families) of childbearing age, so it is no surprise that having a baby is a common aspect of a woman’s settlement experience. Motherhood and migration are both major life events. They present opportunities but incur the risk of mental health problems, more so when they are combined. Many cultures and societies have developed special perinatal customs that can include diet, isolation, rest and household help. But these traditional and specific practices and beliefs that assist in the maintenance of mental health can be lost in migration (Kruckman, 1992). Women are separated from their social networks through migration and must find new ways to recreate these rituals or lose them (DeSouza, 2002). Research suggests that the loss of support, protective rituals and supportive networks compounded by a move to a nuclear family-model can result in isolation and postnatal depression (PND) (Barclay & Kent, 1998; Liamputtong, 1994).

Access to help and support can be impeded if the mother has language and communication problems.

Migrant mothers sometimes face additional cultural and social demands and losses that include the loss of lifestyle, control, sense of self and independence, family and friends, familiar birthing practices and care providers.

Women are more likely to develop emotional problems after childbirth than at any other time in their lives and the life time prevalence of major depression in women is almost twice that of men (Kohen, 2001). According to Lumley et al. (2004), one out of every six women experiences a depressive illness in the first year after giving birth. Thirty per cent of those women will still be depressed when their child is two years old. Of those women, 94% report experiencing a related health problem. Women who experience problems in the early stages of motherhood also report problems with their relationships, their own physical health and well-being. Women report that a lack of support, isolation, and exhaustion are common experiences.

In a study of 119 pregnant immigrant women in Canada, Zelkowitz et al., (2004) found that the transitions associated with migration placed women at higher risk of depression. Forty-two percent of participants scored above the cut-off for depression. Depressive symptoms were associated with poorer functional status and more somatic symptoms. Depressed women reported a lack of social support, more stressful life events and poorer marital adjustment. In Australia, Liamputtong and Naksook (2003) found that Thai women who became mothers in Australia had several main concerns, including social isolation, different childrearing and child disciplinary practices, and the desire to preserve their culture. Findings of isolation, loneliness and negotiating between traditional and Western childbirth rituals are common in these studies and were significant issues in my own New Zealand research (DeSouza, 2006c). This research strongly suggests that migrant mothers, regardless of origin, benefit significantly from effective and familiar social support networks.

Psychiatric illness occurring at this time can have an adverse effect not only on the woman herself but also on her relationships, family, and the future development of her infant. The impact on a child of a mother’s depression can include behavioural problems, relationship problems and cognitive deficits. Research shows that infants who had a mother who was depressed in its first year of life are more likely to develop cognitive deficits and behavioural problems than infants whose mothers were not depressed in that first year (Beck, 1998).
A review by Goodman (2004) of literature from 1980 to 2002 found 20 research studies that included incidence rates of paternal depression during the first year postpartum. During the first postpartum year, the incidence of paternal depression ranged from 1.2% to 25.5% in community samples, and from 24% to 50% among men whose partners were experiencing postpartum depression. Maternal depression was identified as the strongest predictor of paternal depression during the postpartum period.

Changing demographics

Many societies are grappling with issues of citizenship and participation in the context of globalisation, increased migration and increasing diversity. In Europe, one in every fifteen people was born overseas, in the US it rises to one in eight and in New Zealand it is one in five (DeSouza, 2006a). This presents unique challenges and opportunities for service providers to develop skills and competence for working with this diversity, especially as migration is going to be a key source of population increase. Census projections to 2021 suggest that Māori, Pacific and Asian populations will grow at faster rates than the European population but for different reasons. The Asian population is expected to more than double mainly due to net migration gains while Māori and Pacific people’s increases will be due to their higher fertility rates (Statistics New Zealand, 2005).

The Asian community has the highest proportion of women (54%), followed by Māori and Pacific (53% each) and European (52%) (Scragg & Maitra, 2005). Asian women are most highly concentrated in the working age group of 15-64 years compared to other ethnic groups and to some degree this is a reflection of migration policy with Asian women using the opportunity to study or work. It is thought that 23% of New Zealand females were born overseas, predominantly in the UK and Ireland, Asia and the Pacific Islands (Statistics New Zealand, 2005). The 2001 Census revealed growing numbers of Māori (14.5%), Pacific Island people (5.6%), Chinese (2.2%) and Indian (1.2%), despite the dominance of the European/Pākehā who make up 79.6% of the population. In the period between 1991-2001, women originating from the Republic of Korea have increased 23 times from 408 to 9,354, women from China have quadrupled from 4,620 to 20,457 and women from South Asia have doubled in the same time period. Women from Africa (primarily South Africa, Zimbabwe and Somalia) have quadrupled in number (Statistics New Zealand, 2005). This has significant implications for the development and delivery of health services to women.

Cultural competence?

Working on a postnatal ward of a women’s hospital several years ago led me to question whether cultural safety had prepared the nursing and midwifery workforce for working with ethnic diversity1. Cultural safety, which refers to the experiences of the client, and cultural competence, which focuses on the practitioner and their capacity to improve health status by integrating culture into the clinical context, have been gaining prominence, but what do they actually mean?

The introduction of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 has meant an additional responsibility to ensure the cultural competence of health practitioners. Cultural competence can be defined as “the ability of systems to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviours, including tailoring delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural, and linguistic needs (Betancourt, Green, & Carrillo, 2002). Cultural competence includes not only the interpersonal relationship (for example, training and client education) but also the organisational (for example, involving community representatives) and the systemic (for example, providing health information in the appropriate language, collecting ethnicity data).

The New Zealand Medical Council recently consulted its members on cultural competence (The New Zealand Medical Council, 2005). The consultation document includes a proposed framework and says that cross-cultural doctor-patient interactions are common, and doctors need to be competent in dealing with patients whose cultures differ from their own.

It cites the benefits of cultural competence as:

  • Developing a trusting relationship;
  • helping to get more information from patients;
  • improving communication with patients;
  • helping to resolve any differences;
  • increasing concordance with treatment and ensuring better patient outcomes; and
  • improved patient satisfaction.

For cultural competence to occur there is a need for the voices of ethnic communities to be considered in service development, policy and research. Despite the long histories of migration to New Zealand, ethnic communities have been absent from discussions of nation building and health care policy (DeSouza, 2006b). This has in part been due to the relatively small numbers of migrants from non-traditional source countries until the early 1990s, which meant that that the concerns of a relatively homogenous Pākehā people were reflected in policy (Bartley & Spoonley, 2004). This monoculturalism continues to be challenged by the increased prominence of Māori concerns since the 1970’s and increasing attention to biculturalism and health outcomes for Māori. Developments have also occurred with regard to Pacific peoples, largely around health disparities, but this concern has not been extended to ethnic communities despite their increasing visibility in long and short-term migration statistics. This is partly due to an assumption of a ‘health advantage’ of immigrants on the basis of current migration policy, which selects healthy people. However, evidence is growing that this advantage declines with increasing length of residence in a receiving country (Johnstone & Kanitsaki, 2005).

Cultural safety

When Britain assumed governance of its new colony in 1840, it signed a treaty with Māori tribes. Te Tiriti O Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi is today recognised as New Zealand’s founding document and its importance is strongly evident in health care and social policy. As an historical accord between the Crown and Māori, the treaty defines the relationship between Māori and Pākehā (non-Māori) and forms the basis for biculturalism.

Durie (1994) suggests that the contemporary application of the Treaty of Waitangi involves the concepts of biculturalism and cultural safety, which are at the forefront of delivery of mental health services. This means incorporating “principles of partnership, participation, protection and equity” (Cooney, 1994, p.9) into the care that is delivered. There is an expectation that mental health staff in New Zealand ensure care is culturally safe for Māori (Mental Health Commission, 2001). Simply put, “unsafe practitioners diminish, demean or disempower those of other cultures, whilst safe practitioners recognise, respect and acknowledge the rights of others” (Cooney, 1994, p.6). The support and strengthening of identity are seen as crucial for recovery for Māori along with ensuring services meet Māori needs and expectations (Mental Health Commission, 2001). Cultural safety goes beyond learning about such things as the dietary or religious needs of different ethnic groups; it also involves engaging with the socio-political context (DeSouza, 2004; McPherson, Harwood, & McNaughton, 2003). However, critics suggest that cultural safety needs to encompass new and growing ethnic communities. Whilst in theory cultural safety has been expanded to apply to any person or group of people who may differ from the health professionals because of socio-economic status, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, migrant/refugee status, religious belief or disability (Ramsden, 1997), in practice the focus remains on the relationship between Pākehā and Māori, rather than migrants (DeSouza, 2004) and other communities (Giddings, 2005).

Expanding the bicultural to a multi-cultural framework is necessary without removing the special status of tangata whenua. New Zealand’s reluctance to encompass multiculturalism as a social policy framework has been shaped by two key factors, according to Bartley and Spoonley (2004). The first is the location of historical migration source countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, which shaped the development of activities and concerns (as they argue, racist and Anglo centric assumptions of a colonial New Zealand) and, secondly the rise in concerns over indigenous rights and the Treaty of Waitangi, which have precluded discussion around nation and nationality. Thus while countries such as Canada and Australia were developing multicultural policies, New Zealand was debating issues of indigeneity and the relationship with tangata whenua. As a result, New Zealand has yet to develop a locally relevant response to cultural diversity (multiculturalism) that complements or expands on bicultural and Treaty of Waitangi initiatives (Bartley & Spoonley, 2004).

Need for a migrant health agenda

It is, I hope, clear by now that there is a need to develop a migrant mental health agenda, yet much of the previous New Zealand research has omitted the experiences of migrant mothers. The Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research at AUT University and Plunket have begun a collaborative project with funding from the Families Commission and Plunket volunteers to understand the experiences of migrant mothers from the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa, Palestine, Iraq, China, India and Korea, which it is hoped will assist in the development of services and policy.

There is a misguided view that migrants do not experience compromises in their health status despite the changes in income and social support and the new stressors they encounter, which can lead to cumulative negative effects and the need to access mental health services. The neo-liberal trajectory that our society has taken has precluded an interest in the wellbeing of migrants who often face culture-related barriers in using mental health care services. Other than a literature review produced by the Mental Health Commission (Mental Health Commission, 2003), which recommended that mental health services become more responsive to Asian people, there has been little in the way of strategic or long term planning with most of the developments in this area coming from the community and voluntary sector.

Conclusion

Migrants face additional stressors that can increase their need for mental health services. Migration can be a traumatic life event. Becoming a mother in an unfamiliar country adds to this already traumatic event, leading migrant mothers to be more at risk of experiencing depression or other mental health issues. Yet, research on the migrant experience in New Zealand is limited and studies on postnatal depression have excluded migrants in the past.

As the number and diversity of migrants increase, their well-being becomes an increasingly important issue for policy makers and health professionals. The time is right to begin a dialogue about how mental health services can work effectively with this diversity. Migrant mothers hold the key to a family’s future well-being and so are an important group for us to understand and support. In the absence of policy there is a need to advocate for migrant mental health service development, building on the many grassroots initiatives that are already occurring. Beyond this, further discussion is needed as to how cultural competency and cultural safety can be applied to migrant populations.

1. ‘Ethnic’ is a term devised by the Department of Ethnic Affairs and refers to people who are neither Pakeha, Maori or Pacific).

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