$2m for Pacific mental care

Grant to help devise better strategies for supporting Maori and Pasifika youth

Ahigh number of Maori and Pasifika youth are suffering from a mental illness and now a $2 million research grant is set to help better support them.

The Health Research Council of New Zealand has announced its involvement with UK-based Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases organisation — a collection of the world’s largest public research funding groups.

The HRC’s first big programme, as part of the organisation, is a $2 million funding scheme that will go towards research to find better strategies to help young Pasifika and Maori struggling with mental health issues such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorders.

There are a number of organisations and groups around the country that specifically help Maori or Pacific people struggling with mental illness.

Among those is Te Aho Tapu Trust Psychological Services based in Auckland.

Clinical psychologist Sharon Rickard said they worked with Maori whanau most of the time, but also offered their services to others within the community.

She often helped youth with highoffending behaviours who were at the “extreme end of offending” and therefore at high risk of hurting themselves or going to prison.

“It breaks my heart. It’s so easy to diagnose”.

She said one of the biggest strategies she hoped researchers would be looking at was teaching young people about care and respect.

“Rather than treatment, maybe focus on . . . how to teach young people, [whanau or families] to care for themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

HRC chief executive and AUT Professor of Rehabilitation Kathryn McPherson said the funding — which is in association with the Ministry of Health — would allow social workers and health care providers to work with researchers to devise better strategies for those specific communities.

She highlighted the fact Maori and Pacific people disproportionately ex- perienced mental health problems.

“In 10 of the 17 years from 1996 to 2012, Maori suicide death rates were significantly [higher than] non-Maori.

“Pacific people also have a higher prevalence of mental illness than the general population, yet are much less likely to access mental health services.”

Ministry of Health figures showed that in 2012, there were 119 Maori deaths by suicide, accounting for 21.6 per cent of all suicides that year.

In 2013/14, figures showed 12.6 per cent of Pacific people and 9.1 per cent of Maori reported experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress.

That was in comparison to 5.9 per cent of Europeans and other, and 4.4 per cent of those identifying as Asian.

Registrations for those wanting to apply for funding under the initiative open on May 1. For more information visit: hrc.govt.nz