Source: University of Auckland (UoA)
Older Pacific Island people receive significantly less funded community support services than European New Zealanders, a problem being investigated by University of Auckland senior lecturer in psychiatry Dr Etuini Ma’u.
The Health Research Council has granted $1.2 million to Ma’u to examine why Pacific elders are missing out on community services – and the impacts on their wellbeing.
Ma’u, who also works as a psychiatrist caring for older people in Waikato, says Pacific people are less likely to receive an interRAI (International Resident Assessment Instrument) health assessment than Pakeha New Zealanders.
This assessment is used to gauge older people’s physical and mental health needs, if they have symptoms of dementia, whether they need extra support to stay in their home, and if they might need residential care.
The researchers will analyse data from three Pacific health service providers in Auckland, Waikato and Christchurch to see how many Pacific people aged 60 and over currently receive the interRAI assessment and can therefore access the support services they need.
“We don’t know what the level of unmet need is, so we want to find out who we are missing,” says Ma’u, a Tongan New Zealander.
Pacific elders with dementia are three times less likely to go into residential care than European New Zealanders, he says.
Among those remaining in the community, only 33 percent of Pacific people diagnosed with dementia through one specialist memory service have ever used community services they were eligible for.
“Pacific people tend to have more health conditions and a higher burden of disease, so you would expect Pacific elders to have more support needs, not less.
“We’re obviously missing a big chunk of the people and that’s the driver of this research,” the 45-year-old says.
The study will assess 400 Pacific elders who have never had an interRAI assessment to see what services they are potentially missing out on. They will be referred to services they are eligible for and followed up to see what supports they end up using and how this influences their health a year later.
The research team will examine why Pacific elders who receive an interRAI assessment and are offered health and support services often don’t use those services. The range of services includes everything from funding family members or support workers to provide personal care, to day programmes offering therapeutic activities and social contact.
During the three-year project, Waikato University Associate Professor Sione Vaka will arrange several talanoa, or gatherings, for 20 Pacific elders and their caregivers to provide more in-depth views on the interRAI assessment, support services and how services could be improved.
“We want to understand the barriers in the current system, not just to receiving an assessment, but why there’s reluctance to use the services on offer, why they’re not seen as appropriate,” Ma’u says.
The researchers will also look at whether receiving the assessment and using services affects how many GP and hospital visits are made by Pacific elders.
“People who don’t get the assessment or access services are likely to have a lower quality of life, because they’re not receiving as much social interaction or the supports that would keep them at home for longer,” Ma’u says.
If Pacific elders are not using support services, the family often takes on a bigger caregiving load, he says.
“The burden of unpaid caregiving by family members of older Pacific people is massive.
“Carers might have to leave the workforce or take time off work to care for a loved one, but it’s not just financial, there’s also an emotional and physical toll.
“Carers tend to neglect their own health because of what’s happening, so they have poorer mental and physical health,” he says.
