Pacific Frameworks of Health and Wellbeing

Question 1

What is the pacific people’s view on the four aspects that when in balance mean they are healthy?

Answer 1

• Harmony with the cosmos
• Harmony with the environment
• Harmony wth peoples
• Harmony with self

Question 2

What is the pacific people’s view on health?

Answer 2

There are links and relationships between nature, people, nonliving and living things.
- The health of Pacific people is a balance between different factors/dimensions (sopoaga, 2011)
- Illness can be seen as imbalance in the relationship, caused by oneself or by someone else
- views about health as functional wellbeing, and illness as an interruption to such function (Ryan et al, 2019)
- intersecting factors can impact on pacific peoples experience of health and how they access healthcare

Question 3

What happens when a pacific person becomes ill?

Answer 3

Relates to self assessment of your moral worthiness. You are letting your community down if you can’t play your role.
Need to restore the balance in order to cure someone.

Question 4

What is the Fonefale model of health?

Answer 4

• It incorporates the values and beliefs of samoans, cook islanders, tonnage, niuans, tokelauans and Fijians
• this model encompasses different foundations of life including family, cultural values and beliefs, spiritual, physical, mental and other aspects.
• these foundations are interrelated, and health is about maintaining and sustaining balance between these foundations

Question 5

What is the structure of the Fonefale model?

Answer 5

• Foundation: family
• Roof: culture
• 4 Posts: connecting the roof and the foundation are the four ‘pou’
  These pou not only connect the culture and the family but are also continuous and interactive with each other

Question 6

What is the physical aspect of the Fonefale model?

Answer 6

Biological and physical wellbeing:
- anatomy and physiology
- organic and inorganic substances that can have positive or negative impacts on the physical well-being
- excersise, diet, looking after your body

Question 7

What is the spiritual aspect of the Fonefale model?

Answer 7

The sense of wellbeing which stems from a belief system that incudes either Christianity or traditional spirituality relating to nature, spirits, beliefs, ancestors and history, or a combination of both.

Question 8

What is the mental aspect of the Fonefale model?

Answer 8

Thinking, emotions and behaviors
- The stigma surrounding mental health issues is Hugh among pacific peoples
- Some Pacific peoples don’t know where to get help for mental distress and awareness of national mental health websites is low

Question 9

What is the ‘Other’ aspect of the Fonefale model?

Answer 9

This relates to various variables that can directly or indirectly affect health (could be gender, age, socio-economic status).

Initial contacts and protocols:
- build a connection in the initial meeting (introductions, explain the role)
- give the patient a chance to tell you who they would like to have present and how much information they would like you to share with others

Question 10

What is the culture aspect of the Fonefale model?

Answer 10

• Culture is constantly moving and changing, with adaptation to a new environment, a new language, new relationships, globalisation…
• Pacific Islanders with a broader ethnic identity in NZ…. have developed new music, fashions, customs and ways of speaking. A unique culture has emerged.

Question 11

What is the surroundings aspect of the Fonefale model?

Answer 11

These are the other dimensions that have influence on one another, and on the ‘fale’.
Time: actual or specific time in history the impacts on pacific peoples
Context: country of residence, legal, socioeconomic, and the meaning it has for that particular person or people
Environment: relationship to the physical environment