Not enough research on mental health of ethnic migrant women

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-06-06 00:01

New Zealand

Photo by Shelby Murphy Figueroa on Unsplash

There's a shortage of peer-reviewed data on mental health and wellbeing of Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African women and girls in Aotearoa, say researchers. Despite comprising roughly a tenth of NZ's population, the authors of a new scoping review in NZMJ found there weren't enough studies on these groups to understand their rates of mental health conditions or access to mental health services. The authors say current policies and resources might not match their needs and, with populations expected to increase, more targeted research is a key priority to better inform future policies.

Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

There is a significant lack of high-quality data on the mental health of Asian and Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) women and girls in Aotearoa New Zealand. Existing evidence is limited and drawn from studies with diverse populations and outcomes, making it difficult to draw clear conclusions. Most of the available research does not specifically focus on mental health among Asian and MELAA women and girls and often does not provide detailed data for these groups. Only three peer-reviewed studies have examined the mental health and wellbeing of Asian women in New Zealand, and these were limited to a few sub-ethnic groups. No studies were found that focussed solely on MELAA women. These gaps in knowledge have important implications for the development and delivery of mental health services. Without accurate and detailed data, it is challenging to understand and respond to the specific needs of these communities.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Auckland, Ministry of Health, New Zealand Government, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand

Funder: The authors would like to thank The University of Auckland for the Faculty Research Development Seed Funding (2023) that supported this research.

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