Pacific people in Aotearoa New Zealand and the treatment of long-term conditions: a narrative literature review about Pacific people’s understandings of health and wellbeing

Lisa Kitione; Debbie Ryan; Ausaga Faasalele Tanuvasa; Ben Gray

doi:10.1071/HC24151

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Pacific people in Aotearoa New Zealand and the treatment of long-term conditions: a narrative literature review about Pacific people’s understandings of health and wellbeing

Lisa Kitione

¹ , Debbie Ryan

¹ ^* , Ausaga Faasalele Tanuvasa ² , Ben Gray

³

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

¹ Pacific Perspectives Limited, Wellington, New Zealand.

² Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora - Health Services Research Centre, Te Wāhanga Tātai Hauora - Wellington Faculty of Health, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, Rutherford House, Piptea Campus, Bunny Street, Wellington 6011, New Zealand.

³ Department of Primary Health Care & General Practice, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.

^* Correspondence to: debbie@pacificperspectives.co.nz

Handling Editor: Tim Stokes

Journal of Primary Health Care https://doi.org/10.1071/HC24151

Submitted: 10 October 2024 Accepted: 14 April 2025 Published: 6 May 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Introduction

Long-term conditions data for Pacific people show unchanged outcomes over several decades. Research suggests that models of care that recognise diverse understandings of health and wellbeing have benefits for people with long-term conditions and their families and help address longstanding health disparities.

Aim

To explore Pacific people’s understandings of health and wellbeing and, within this context, to examine concepts related to long-term conditions models of care.

Methods

A narrative review was conducted using broad search terms in key clinical and social science databases and manual searches of Pacific-focused publications to ensure extensive coverage of topics of interest. The methods were well suited to exploring experiential, conceptual themes often underrepresented in systematic reviews.

Results

Eighteen studies produced over a more than 25-year period (1997–2024) were included. The studies describe values and beliefs that form holistic conceptualisations of Pacific health, centred around family and grounded in a collective sense of wellbeing. They provide insights about how these understandings intersect with socioeconomic and environmental factors to shape context-specific experiences of care for Pacific peoples.

Discussion

The reviewed studies highlight the ‘lived with’ effects of long-term conditions that Pacific people and their families experience. They illustrate how the goals of long-term condition models of care, however desirable, may not seem beneficial or feasible for Pacific families if they neglect other dimensions of wellbeing, or fail to consider constraining contextual factors. Literature that challenges conventional concepts in long-term conditions models of care potentially support appropriate approaches for Pacific people and their families.

Keywords: chronic disease management, health equity, models of care, narrative review, Pacific communities, Pacific health, patient journey, primary health care.

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