Participation at 24th Annual Cook Islands Health Conference
Picture (from left): Selane Tairea (Research Fellow, TPVM), Katrina Sharlott (PhD Candidate, University of Otago), Merita Tuarii (Senior Research Fellow, TPVM) and Federica Pieriste (PhD Candidate, Sapienza Università di Roma)
The 2025 Health Expo highlighted the importance of the first 1000 days, drawing in national and international experts alike.
Merita Tuari’i shared her research on behalf of Te Puna Vai Marama which focused on the Cook Islands’ response to COVID-19. Answering the question “Why did a small island state do so well?” our story during COVID-19 stands as a success story of resilience against implied vulnerability. Revisiting what happened during the pandemic and how the Cook Islands’ community came together to overcome the odds, Merita provided a thought-provoking and well received review of the strength of Cook Islanders and the value of community. Through a combination of measures that relied on preparedness, self-reliance and collaboration the Cook Islands beat the odds and came through the COVID-19 crisis relatively unscathed.
Selane Tairea had the privilege of presenting on behalf of the University of Auckland's Liggins institute and the Ora’anga Tumanava team. Her presentation focused on workforce development in the health sector. Utilising Appreciative Inquiry, the 70-20-10 framework and codesign approaches combined, Selane contributed towards the development of online toolkits.These toolkits are intended to be used in partnership with on the job experiences and mentoring. The topics of focus were 1) statistical literacy 2) monitoring and enhancing physical activity and 3) metabolic health checks. Selane’s presentation shared the journey of the development of the toolkits, promoting the idea that learning must be continuous and supported by strong leadership.
The online toolkits are free for use and can be accessed through this link: https://oraanga-tumanava.org/
You will need to create a log in to access the content but no payment is required. The courses are FREE so give them a go!