An Application of a Tivaivai Research framework to a quantitative Pacific health research project using New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure

Using the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) to investigate or research various social, cultural, health, or other related outcomes is appealing and has a lot of potential. The IDI offers sufficient numbers for researchers to investigate outcomes in Pacific communities to a level of detail not available in many studies. The overall aim of this paper is discuss the appropriate values for research projects involving Pacific communities using IDI data; issues around ownership of data from Pacific communities; consent; identification; and other ethical considerations. Although the IDI has a great deal of potential for Pacific health research, many findings based on research using IDI data have been recognised as deficit-framed and polarising for the communities they describe. Some would argue that such findings highlight discrepancies in health or social equity and point to deficiencies that should be the responsibility of governmental organisations. Most analyses stop short of investigating practical pathways for communities to find solutions that are sympathetic to the values or established infrastructure of those communities. This paper proposes an extension to the Tivaivai/Tivaevae research framework and shows how it incorporates values that should be reflected in Pacific research using IDI data. With applications in a range of disciplines, the Tivaivai framework, like many Pacific research models, has been applied to qualitative or small mixed-methods projects, and restricted to Cook Islands research. The paper describes an outline of values that will underpin a specific Pacific health research project and presents a framework for how to incorporate those principles into that study. It is hoped, that this paper may provide a starting point for other quantitative Pacific research projects involving administrative or other big data. Further, it also provides a blueprint for any study, Pacific or otherwise, to be explicit about the values principles and connection they wish to uphold for the communities that are the focus of their research