PhD student Jutarat Kongpet presents research at Te Whare Wananga o Waikato

Earlier this week, Jutarat Kongpet shared new findings from her research at Te Whare Wananga o Waikato/University of Waikato. Her findings show Southeast Asian migrant children appear to be mature in cognitive readiness concerning understanding health. However, they encounter obstacles when communicating with health professionals in Aotearoa New Zealand. The identified challenges include linguistic barriers, particularly with regard to English and medical terminology, and lack of involvement in health communication. To address these challenges, it is recommended that health communication appear to be simple conversation and integrated with teaching methodologies to enhance children’s comprehension. The child-friendly physical space and the kindness of health professionals have also been identified as factors that can potentially improve health communication with Southeast Asian migrant children.