Inoke Veamatahau

The role of Christian faith communities in promoting health in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.

Supervisors:

A/Professor Cathy Vaughan (Head of the Gender and Women’s Health in the Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health).

Professor Richard Chenhall (Medical Anthropology, Deputy Director in the Centre for Health Equity and Head of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health)

Bio:

Inoke has 20 years’ experience in faith community as a practical theologian, an ordained pastor with specialty in pastoral care using care plan and online communication.  As part of his Doctor of Ministry project (Fuller:2014), he conducted research on the effectiveness of using online communication in pastoral care.  A care model called “Pastoral Net Care” was developed and later implemented and trial in a few churches in Victoria.    Seeking to evaluate the effectiveness of health care services through faith-based community, Inoke will target the Pacific Island Church communities in the Western suburbs of Melbourne, using the indigenous talanoa methodology and technology.  Inoke’s vision is to see the local church as a recognized and effective health care provider through partnership with public health providers.   Welcome Inoke.

PhD Title:

Recognition of the Local Church, Community-Based Participatory Care Activities as a Novel Approach to Health and Health Outcome: Understanding the Contextual Factors Influencing NCD amongst the Pacific Islanders living in the Melbourne West and Promote Healthy and Wellbeing through the local church.

Abstract:

The propose overall objective of this study is to explore the overall health and wellbeing of the Pacific Islanders in the Faith Communities in the Western suburbs of Melbourne with a view to improving health outcomes through a co-designed intervention.  The codesigned intervention is to be developed through the establishment of effective partnership between the faith community (the local church) and the primary health care providers.  The study will use indigenous talanoa methods to design a working model, and to collect data for analysis.  It is anticipated the findings can give sufficient information that can be used as evidence based when designing programs regarding the effectiveness of faith-based community approach to health and health outcome.  Targeting the migrant faith community provides the opportunity to further understand the role of culture and faith in health.  Results will inform the impacts of faith-community based participatory approach to the health of the Pacific Islanders with NCD, living in the Western suburb of Melbourne.