Dr Amy Henry – Pacific nursing researcher

Dr Amy Henry is a New Zealand born Cook Island Māori of mixed Papa’ā ancestry, and has a background working as a registered nurse and district nurse. In 2024, Amy completed her PhD in Health Sciences at the University of Otago, and its quality was recognised by being placed on the Exceptional Theses list. Amy was recruited through the Eke Tangaroa programme in 2023, and moved her family to Auckland to join AUT as a Lecturer in the Department of Nursing of the School of Clinical Sciences in early 2024.

In November 2024, Amy won a Health Research Council (HRC) Pacific Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship, one of only three awarded that year. The title of her research is ‘Te vaerua kopu tangata ora: Application of a Pacific model of palliative care’ with a duration of four years from January 2025. For the period of the fellowship, Amy will spend 75% of her time on the research while continuing to teach for the remaining 25% (see here for the HRC record).

The project title refers to ‘the wellness of the family spirit’ and it continues Amy’s doctoral research on palliative care knowledge and beliefs of Cook Islands families in New Zealand. With this research, Amy plans to further develop the model she created in her PhD, and to determine how it can be applied in practice. The research has a strong Cook Island focus but is New Zealand based. The fellowship includes funding for a masters student and two summer internships, with the aim of helping to further interest in researching Pacific palliative care.

Amy says: “I hope this project aids in improving the experience for families caring for a loved one needing palliative care. I hope this research can also be used to support policy changes, towards more equitable access to palliative care services that support families in a way that meets their needs.”

The HRC fellowship had been on Amy’s watchlist for some time as one of the key opportunities available to a doctoral graduate. She reached out to a number of people starting early in the process, including Dr Falegau Melanie Lilomaiava Silulu, a previous recipient of the award, who helped Amy understand what HRC was looking for in the application. Amy is also grateful to Professor El-Shadan Tautolo for critically reviewing her proposal. She met local hospice providers and palliative care specialists to help her develop her ideas for how to apply her models in clinical practice. The Cook Islands nursing association and the palliative care research network supported the concept stage of developing the research proposal.

Amy acknowledges the end-to-end support of the faculty research office, and the benefit of attending faculty research workshops. Amy also credits being part of Eke Tangaroa and the Moanaroa Pacific research network as key in helping to support her since moving to Auckland and in her transition into her role as a university academic.

_{Speaking at the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Pacific Nurses conference in Auckland, October 2024}

_{With members of the Cook Islands Nursing Association at the NZNO Pacific Nurses conference in Auckland, October 2024}