The Social and Economic impact of respiratory viral-associated child hospitalisations on Pacific families living in South Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Background: Pacific peoples in New Zealand are a young, diverse and large population made up of different of Pacific Island nations and cultures. Although these Pacific Island nations share similarities, each are unique having their own culture, traditions, beliefs, and values. Pacific peoples are more likely to live in urbanised areas, have low-income jobs, live in large multi-generational households, and live in neighbourhoods of high deprivation. Pacific peoples experience higher burdens of respiratory illness and disproportionately higher rates of hospitalisation due to respiratory diseases. Aim: This research explores the social and economic impacts of child hospitalisations with a confirmed respiratory viral infection on their Pacific families living in South Auckland, New Zealand. Methodology: Participants who identified as being Pacific and had a child (0-5 years) who had been admitted to the hospital with a confirmed respiratory-viral infection were eligible to participate. A qualitative research design was implemented, utilising the kakala Pacific research framework and the talanoa method. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Twelve family semi-structured talanoa (Pacific-style interviews) were conducted for this study. All participants were of Pacific descent with the majority being either Samoan or Tongan. All participants resided in South Auckland and had a child who had been admitted to hospital with a confirmed respiratory-viral infection. There were seven themes of social and economic concerns that emerged from the data. The first theme is that the impacts are multifaceted and interconnected. The second theme was by separation from family and household. This was followed by impacts on the mental wellbeing of all family members, prioritising the health of the child, parental tiredness and exhaustion, financial impacts and parental employment. Conclusion: This research highlights the multifaceted and interconnected nature of the impacts on these families from having a child hospitalised with a severe respiratory illness. Recommendations include providing holistic and better approaches to support for these families to address their needs. Further, during pandemics, hospital systems will need to consider issues related to family (including cultural factors) when developing their visitation policies.