Stakeholder views on factors influencing the wellbeing and health sector engagement of young Asian New Zealanders

Abstract

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION In New Zealand, while the term ‘Asians’ in popular discourse means East and South-east Asian peoples, Statistics New Zealand’s definition includes people of many nationalities from East, South and South-east Asia, all with quite different cultural norms, taboos and degrees of conservatism. In a context where ‘Asian’ youth data are typically presented in aggregate form, there are notable gaps in knowledge regarding the contextual determinants of health in this highly heterogeneous group. This qualitative study explored key stakeholder views on issues that would be most useful to explore on the health and wellbeing of Asian youth and processes that would foster engagement of Asian youth in health research. METHODS Interviews were conducted with six key stakeholders whose professional activities were largely focused on the wellbeing of Asian people. The general inductive approach was used to identify and analyse themes in the qualitative text data. FINDINGS Six broad themes were identified from the key stakeholder interviews framed as priority areas that need further exploration: cultural identity, integration and acculturation; barriers to help-seeking; aspects to consider when engaging Asian youth in research (youth voice, empowerment and participatory approach to research); parental influence and involvement in health research; confidentiality and anonymity; and capacity building and informing policy. CONCLUSION With stakeholders strongly advocating the engagement of Asian youth in the health research agenda this study highlights the importance of engaging youth alongside service providers to collaborate on research and co-design responsive primary health care services in a multicultural setting. KEYWORDS Asian youth; New Zealand; health research; minority health; Community and social participation