Dr Jemaima Tiatia
What is your role/profession currently? Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
What was your abstract presentation about at the PMA Conference for 2022, and why are you passionate about it? I was a panellist and touched upon bias and racism, and in another session, co-presented with Dr Fiona Langridge whom co-lead, alongside Dr Tina Newport and I, the first phase of an HRC-funded project examining mental wellbeing and climate change with the aim of privileging Pacific peoples’ perspectives.
What are your aspirations for Pacific health? Equitable outcomes, a growth in the mental health and wellbeing workforce, more support and investment in health sector leadership and growth in Aotearoa and across our Pacific region.
How did you find the Conference last year? An excellent structure and an inclusion of a wonderful array of diverse perspectives, where topics were both relevant and provocative.
Dr Fiona Langridge
What is your role/profession currently? I'm working as a Research Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Auckland and I'm mainly doing work with Cure Kids in Fiji. I'm also doing quite a bit of work in Tonga in the child protection space.
What was your abstract presentation about at the PMA Conference for 2022, and why are you passionate about it? Our particular topic was around what are some of the main concepts from a Pacific perspective, that kind of speak to the thoughts around where mental wellbeing and climate change interact for the Pacific; both for the region and for New Zealand.
What are your aspirations for Pacific health? My predominant work is in the region, in child health, so my real personal aspirations are around seeing more resource and more focus being given to our Pacific children, particularly in the region, and the research space being able to see more growth of pacific researchers from the region being able to work in the pacific child health space as well.
How did you find the Conference last year? I always love the PMA conference and have been to it a number of times. As someone who works in Pacific research, it's one of the key forums to meet with people who are like minded and doing similar work and it's always such a welcoming space.
Abstract submissions for the Pasifika Medical Association Conference, which is hosted in September in the Cook Islands, is open until the 16 June 2023. Click here for more information and to submit an abstract.
