More than 3,000 I-Kiribati have migrated to Aotearoa New Zealand and made it their home, according to the latest census. Since 2013, there has been an increase of 65% in the number of I-Kiribati living in Aotearoa New Zealand, with the majority residing in Auckland, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Canterbury regions.
This presentation has two components. Firstly, it will provide a brief overview of my Doctoral qualitative research project titled, Navigating health practices for I-Kiribati in New Zealand. For this study, I developed an I-Kiribati research framework, Te Kora. This was used to frame the research and also explore how the 30 I-Kiribati participants navigated between their traditional health beliefs and practices, and Western understandings of health and practices, in order to manage their health and wellbeing. From the 30 participants’ karaki (stories), a health model for I-Kiribati was developed namely Te Kuan Model of Te Mauri.
In the second part of the presentation, I will discuss themes that emerged from the participants karaki. These will focus on how the participants perceived health, and in conjunction with utilised traditional Kiribati healing practices, Western health practices, rongoā Māori, and ‘Other’ Pacific health practices to maintain good health and wellbeing and manage their illnesses.
The findings emphasise the importance of understanding how I-Kiribati perceive and navigate health practices in their new host country of Aotearoa New Zealand, which has significant implications for their wellbeing, and as well as Aotearoa health system.