Dr Sanerivi awarded Tāwhia te Mana Future Leader Fellowship by Royal Society Te Apārangi for Māori and Pacific focused prostate cancer research.
Research Details
- Papa Moana - Māori/Pasifika Prostate Cancer Care
- Gisborne, NZ
- Dr Oka Sanerivi
- o.sanerivi@matai.org.nz
Papa Moana Māori/Pasifika Prostate Cancer Care
This project explores how Māori and Pacific men view and understand their health and their bodies, with a focus on prostate cancer – the most common cancer affecting men in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Māori and Pacific men experience relatively high mortality from prostate cancer, despite similar diagnosis rates to other groups. Dr Sanerivi will ask participants about their experience of disease awareness, diagnoses, access to culturally appropriate healthcare, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Early detection of, and intervention in, prostate cancer is associated with improved patient outcomes, and means that less-intensive treatment is required, reducing health expenditure. This research will ensure that the experiences of Māori and Pacific men are understood, and enable the co-design of a tailored health service to provide culturally informed diagnosis and care for men affected by prostate cancer.
The project is led by Dr Oka Sanerivi. Dr Sanerivi’s previous doctoral research explored the translation of Samoan cultural knowledge into clinical guidance and culturally safe health service delivery. His experience includes election as the Chair of the Pacific Islanders Community Trust Gisborne, Executive Committee member for Physiotherapy New Zealand, the New Zealand delegate to the World Physiotherapy Congress and General Meeting 2023 in Dubai; and the Deputy-Chair of the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand.
New Zealand’s first MRI-guided prostate cancer transurethral ultrasound ablation service. Minimally invasive treatment for men with gland-confined prostate cancer.
COMING LATE OCTOBER
We are using advanced MRI techniques to improve how prostate cancer is diagnosed. A free service available to men in Tairāwhiti.
Around 100 men in Gisborne-Tairawhiti have benefited so far from joint funding that supports an advanced approach to prostate cancer diagnosis.
The goal of the Mātai pathway is increasing the accuracy of the prostate cancer diagnosis and advocating for guided biopsy as a national standard of care, to improve outcomes and equity in prostate cancer screening and diagnosis.
Around 100 men in Gisborne-Tairawhiti have benefited so far from joint funding that supports an advanced approach to prostate cancer diagnosis.
