Pacific and Māori step up against grim mental health stats through specialised nursing program

Pacific people are signing up in droves for a mental health and addiction health program.

The New Entry to Specialist Practice (NESP) doubled nurse enrollments prior to 2020 while funding 155 positions, the highest number the sector has seen.

Director Mentally Well at Te Whatu Ora Jo Chiplin says it is important that the nursing workforce reflects the communities they serve.

"Getting more Māori and Pacific nurses has been important for us," Chiplin says.

Last year the combined Māori and Pacific nurse numbers were greater than NZ-Europeans.

"It's something we've been deliberately focusing on. We want to better respond to the needs of Pacific peoples.

"Māori and Pacific are the biggest population groups who are entering mental health nursing so [we're] really encouraged by that."

View the full interview from 531pi's Facebook page below:

A mental health and addiction report from Te Whatu Ora found Pacific peoples have higher rates of diagnosable mental illness, significant distress and suicidal behaviour particularly with youth compared to other New Zealanders.

Furthermore, mental health stigma is high among Pacific peoples and an important barrier to overcome.

"Pacific peoples are often more reluctant to ask for help or seek services and that means they wait until problems get bigger or they're in crisis," Chiplin says.

"We want people to ask for help early so that they can get on top of things. That means talking to a friend or seeking help.

"If you want to seek help from a Pacific service those services are available as well.”

To further encourage enrolment, Te Whatu Ora has funded a targeted social campaign called Real Nurses Campaign for mental health nursing.

"There's work to grow the Pacific health workforce.

"This has been a specific targeted campaign around getting more nurses into specialising in mental health and addiction."

For more information on enrolling visit the Real Nurses Campaign website here.