Pacific People’s Health Advisory Group submits video to North American Research Conference

The Pacific People’s Health Advisory Group (PPHAG) created a video submission to deliver a plenary at the 2020 NAPCRG Conference, the conference has since moved its focus to COVID-19, however, we wanted to share their video with you – it is a great view into how and why the group was formed and the work it contributes to.

Supported by Alliance Health Plus, the Pacific Peoples Health Advisory Group (PPHAG) is a health research advisory group made up of members from the Pacific community across a variety of backgrounds and ages. The group provides a way to engage with the Pacific community around new initiatives, care delivery and developing ground-up research questions. It is the only group of its kind in New Zealand.

Established in 2017, the group was formed after AH+ Clinical Director and Manurewa practice GP, Dr Tana Fishman travelled to America with her patient Rose Lamont as a ‘Dyad’, to take part in the Patients and Clinician Engagement (PaCE) Programme through the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) in 2016. This initiative brings patients and clinicians together in a forum to help understand and build knowledge of primary care research and health care delivery.

Following the formation of the PPHAG, Alliance Health Plus formed the ‘Pacific Practice Based Research Network’ (PPBRN). This is a unique network in New Zealand which brings together the community (through PPHAG), practices, the PHO, and university researchers. The purpose is for the community and practices to identify areas of research that are relevant to them. These ideas are then put into research questions with university partners. There is a particular focus on issues that have significant impact on Pacific health outcomes. Research Officers have also been identified in each of the participating practices.

The first research project involving the PPBRN is underway looking at gout prevention and access to medication for Pacific people. The prevalence of gout in Pacific men aged 45 - 64 years is 33% compared to non-Maori, non-Pacific men of the same age group at just 6%. The project was considered imperative by both the community and practices.