Aim: Ethnic group membership has a robust association with health in New Zealand. To understand this relationship with particular attention to the health of older Pacific peoples, an analysis was undertaken using the Health, Work and Retirement Study.
Method: The study was initiated in 2006 with 2-year re-assessment intervals. The sample consisted of 6653 individuals aged 55-70 randomly sampled from the electoral roll. Of these, 108 identified as belonging to a Pacific ethnic group. The rest of the sample comprised New Zealand European, Maori, Asian and other ethnic groups.
Results: Older Pacific people scored lower on measures of physical and mental health, and reported higher rates of health conditions. The relationship between ethnicity and health was partially explained by lower socioeconomic status, less physical activity, and greater alcohol consumption. After controlling for multiple health risks, socioeconomic and demographic variables, ethnicity continued to predict lower levels of physical health, suggesting that there are other factors which contribute to higher rates of poor health for people of Pacific ethnicity. NZ-born Pacific people had better health than those born outside NZ.
Conclusion: Taken together, this indicates that ethnicity intersects with structural variables which restrict access to resources related to good health and expose older Pacific people to risk factors for poor health. Combined with the effects of migration this contributes to health disparities found between Pacific and other ethnic groups in in New Zealand.