Understanding that all is not well with Pacific people’s health guided El-Shadan Tautolo (MSc, BSc) into a career in Pacific health research.
The first thing you notice when you meet El-Shadan Tautolo or, Dan as he likes to be called, is that he is a humble and gentle soul. He hails from the village of Tanugamanono, Samoa and Penrhyn, Cook Islands. An HRC Pacific Conference Grant in enabled Dan to present his PhD study, Pacific Fathers and the Impact on health development at the Pasifika Medical Association conference in the Cook Islands in July of last year.
“My initial work was academically focused on the sciences,” says Dan who has a Bachelor of Science and Masters in Forensic Science. The switch of code saw Dan pursue a post graduate scholarship in Public Health and he says, “through working with leading Pacific health researchers like Dr John Huakau, Dr Vili Nosa and Dr David Schaaf it was then that I truly began to understand that all was not well with Pacific health, and was guided into a career in Pacific health research.” He then joined the Pacific Island Families study based at the AUT University with the view of enrolling in a PhD programme and in 2008 he received an HRC Pacific Health Research PhD Scholarship.
Dan emphasises that “throughout my academic career there were challenges along the way, but these were outweighed by gaining scholarships which increased my confidence in my work knowing that funding was accessible and available to support me.”
He also wants to use his PhD chapters by disseminating the information through the Pacific Island Families study website and through Pacific community stakeholder presentations. “My PhD focuses on Pacific fathers and their influence in child and family development looking in particular at mental health, the influence of acculturation on Pacific peoples’ health outcomes and smoking.”
Dan is conscious that it is important to disseminate the information and make people aware of his findings and to understand them. He hopes this information can be of use for everyone, particularly those in health and child health services.
“I want to make my PhD a living document and not one that is left on a library shelf. There has been a great deal of interest in the PhD topic by national bodies such as, Pasifika Allied Womens Council and the Pacific Health and Welfare Network, and also by the Samoan and Cook Island communities in South Auckland. It would a real privilege to have people use my PhD findings to improve the health and wellbeing of our people via mainstream and Pasifika health, educational and social services.”
In the future Dan intends to undertake post-doctoral research working in New Zealand and in the South Pacific region, particularly in Samoa and the Cook Islands.
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Source – Health Research Council
