Your health is in your hands: factors that influence Samoan women's food choices within a Church context

Abstract

Fifty years ago, Pacific people's health was considered excellent, robust and strong. At that time, the issue of Pacific people's health was not severe, whereas today, their deteriorating health is of major concern to the Ministry of Health in New Zealand as well as being of extreme concern within the Pacific nations. New Zealand statistics confirm the poor status of Pacific people's health, in that they are exposed to more risk factors for poor health such as obesity. Contributing factors to the declining health of Pacific peoples are mainly cultural and socio-economic. My experience of being involved with food preparations for hosting special occasions within the Church fuelled my interest in researching the influence of food choices on the health of Samoan church goers. The intent of this study is to formulate strategies to help promote healthy eating within the Samoan church environment by exploring the opinions and attitudes of Samoan women. Because the Women's Fellowship plays a key role in preparing and cooking food when major conferences and other occasions are hosted within the Church, I selected some of its members as key informants for this research. The importance of utilising the church environment as the context for this research was based on my understanding and experience that the majority of Pacific people living in New Zealand are known to be church attendees. Most research that focuses on Pacific issues or involves Pacific people often employs a narrative approach because of the assumption that Pacific people favour oral discussions. Taking this into consideration, I chose Grounded Theory as a methodological stance for this study as the rigorous process and qualitative approach of Grounded Theory aligns fully with the focus of this study A review of literature confirmed that there is very little information available on the topic of factors contributing to the Samoan women's food choices and why. Most literature related to Pacific people's health is derived from a medical perspective. An abundance of statistical information available, however, verifies that Pacific people's health is at major risk. Focus groups and one-on-one interviews were utilised to collect the data for this research. Seven Samoan women agreed to be interviewed at three different stages within the Grounded Theory process. In this research, we see through the eyes of these women who have often engaged in and continue to be responsible for the catering of major conferences and events at the Church. Promoting healthy eating within the Church at this point of time is only feasible when cultural barriers are overcome. The findings of this research indicate that it is important to engage the willing participation of the Samoan community, including church leaders, who are predominantly male as they are considered influential when discussions relative to Pacific issues are undertaken.