Generic, stressed worker. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A newly released podcast presented in the Samoan language aims to reduce stigma around mental health.
Called Fau Gagana - a Samoan nurse's perceptive on mental health, provides general information, as well as interpretations on mental wellbeing from a Samoan perspective.
Auckland University of Technology's nursing lecturer, Dr Ioana Mulipola, says the idea for the podcast came about while she was completing her doctorate in 2023.
Fau Gagana - a Samoan nurse's perceptive on mental health. Photo: Fau Gagana Podcast
"It's an accumulation of my years of experience working in clinical practice. What I observe and my experience working with our people in clinical practice that when I identify what I observe, there's a great need for understanding the language.
"During my doctoral study, that's when really wanted to do a podcast to take the message out there to share what I know about what mental health and share it with my community in a language that everyone can understand."
She said health and wellbeing is something that is something Samoan peoples way of life.
"If we do things in the village, within our family, within the matai system, with every system that we we participate in some more within our family, it's all centralised in health and well being.
"It's everything we do because we prioritise our health and well being by having good connection with others."
But Mulipola hopes the Samoan community should normalise talking about mental health from "Samoan perspective".
She said she wants to empower the Samoa community because "mental health is a topic that we hardly talk about".
"I really want my community to have knowledge about what mental health is and what mental illness is and what are the symptoms so that people will look after their own health and wellbeing, and their families and their communities," she said.
"I want to start the conversation that it's okay to talk about mental health."
Dr Ioana Mulipola is hoping to break down stigma surrounding mental health for Samoans through her new podcast 'Fau Gagana'. Photo: Ioana Mulipola
