The workplace hazards thousands of Pacific meatworkers face each day will be at the centre of a new University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka-led project.
The first of its kind study will take a Pacific approach to investigate the connection between the risk exposures in these kinds of manual labour industries and workers' health.
The project has just received a nearly $400,000 Pacific Emerging Researcher Grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand. It is one of seven Otago-led projects to receive more than $2 million in the latest Emerging Researcher, Explorer Grants, and AI in Healthcare funding rounds.
Project lead Dr Jane Taafaki, Postdoctoral Fellow in Va'a o Tautai – Centre for Pacific Health, says she was "surprised and really excited" the project received this recognition.
"Meat processing is New Zealand's largest manufacturing sector – it employs 28,000 people and is worth $12.2 billion to the economy. It is also a hazardous work environment with multiple health risks.
"Pacific peoples are overrepresented in this industry and experience high rates of injury and work-related harm, a trend which is a growing concern in rural towns," she says.
Taking place in meat plants in Oamaru, Balclutha and Pareora and using fa'afaletui and talanoa methodologies, the study will examine the type and extent of workplace injury and illness, and how they relate to wider concepts of wellbeing, perception of workplace safety, risk exposures, and absenteeism.
"We really want the outcomes of the project to be useful and informative to both the industry as well as agencies like Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, WorkSafe and ACC so that there are positive outcomes for the workers and industry alike," Dr Taafaki says.
Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Dr Martin Gagnon congratulates Dr Taafaki on her grant, as well as the other successful Otago recipients.
"I am always heartened by the breadth of work being undertaken by Otago academics and know these innovative projects will be of real benefit to the health of New Zealanders."
The Grants
Emerging Researcher Grants
Dr Brendon Roxburgh, School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Science
Fit for treatment: Evaluating the feasibility of exercise during chemotherapy
$399,903
Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Aotearoa New Zealand, with especially high rates in the Otago-Southland region. Chemotherapy is a key treatment but often causes unpleasant side effects. These can reduce a person's ability to tolerate their treatment, making it less effective. Exercise during chemotherapy may reduce these side effects and improve treatment outcomes. This research will begin by talking with people who have received or are receiving chemotherapy for colorectal cancer to understand what helps or prevents them from being active during treatment. We will use this information to develop a patient resource that supports safe physical activity during chemotherapy. We will then test whether a supervised exercise programme during treatment is safe, manageable, and acceptable for people with colorectal cancer. This research could lead to better support for patients during treatment, improved health outcomes, and a cost-effective way to improve cancer care across Aotearoa.
Dr Jane Taafaki, Va'a o Tautai - Centre for Pacific Health
Understanding occupational health and hazard exposures in rural Pacific meatworkers
$399,999
Meat processing is a hazardous work environment with multiple health risks. Pacific peoples are overrepresented in this industry with high rates of injury and work-related harm. Little research has investigated the occupational health and exposures experienced by Pacific meatworkers, particularly in rural settings. While a small amount of individual level data exists, the nature and magnitude of this injury/illness and exposure has not previously been characterised and quantified. Furthermore, no instruments currently exist for undertaking this assessment among rural Pacific workers. This grant will support the development of a research platform in situating health services to respond to the health needs of rural Pacific workers more effectively, and their āiga (families). The research aims to develop an instrument suitable for determining the nature and magnitude of musculoskeletal and associated health impact for Pasifika working in rural meat processing.
*This project is a joint endeavour between Va'a o Tautai – Centre for Pacific Health and the School of Physiotherapy, Massey University and Ngā Poumana Tangata Whenua Allied Health. The team also includes Professor Rose Richards, Dr Miranda Buhler, Professor Jeroen Douwes, Elijah Areli, Chris Higgs and Ulima Tofi.
Explorer Grants
Dr Sarah Appleby, Department of Medicine, Christchurch
Predicting cardiovascular events with a new blood test
$150,000
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and illness in Aotearoa New Zealand. Heart attacks and other cardiovascular events often occur without warning, particularly in individuals classified as low or intermediate risk by existing prediction tools. This underscores the need for new, innovative biological indicators, called biomarkers, to improve these tools and better identify individuals at risk. Recent advances in detecting DNA modifications in blood have opened the door to a promising new set of potential biomarkers. Here, we will investigate oxidised mitochondrial DNA, which is released into the bloodstream when the heart is stressed or damaged. By measuring oxidised mitochondrial DNA in a heart attack model and also in blood samples from healthy volunteers who later experienced unexpected heart events, we aim to determine whether it can serve as an early warning signal to identify at-risk individuals who might otherwise be overlooked.
Dr Silke Neumann, Department of Pathology
Enhancing chemotherapy sensitivity in diffuse gastric cancer
$150,000
Gastric cancer includes different histological types that vary widely in how they grow and respond to treatment. Currently, all gastric cancer types are treated with similar chemotherapy approaches, but one type – diffuse gastric cancer – often does not respond well to chemotherapy and patients may even be harmed by it. This is especially significant in Aotearoa New Zealand, where Māori and Pacific communities are disproportionately impacted by diffuse gastric cancer. This research aims to make diffuse gastric cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy by stimulating their growth. This challenging concept leverages the fact that chemotherapy targets growing cells, and by stimulating cancer cell proliferation, this may help overcome resistance, making treatments more effective for diffuse gastric cancer. Using a combination of drugs and genetic modifications targeting a growth pathway, the study will test if this approach can enhance treatment effectiveness, potentially offering a breakthrough for diffuse gastric cancer patients.
Dr Zeina Al Naasan, Department of Oral Sciences
Improving self-performed oral health – a digital technology solution
$150,000
Many New Zealanders experience tooth decay and gum disease, but most oral conditions are preventable. We want to empower patients to take control of their health through good oral health practices at home. We also want to make it easier for patients to obtain the advice of an oral health clinician to monitor their oral health. Working together with patient groups (including Māori and Pacific), we will co-design an AI-assisted easy-to-use smart-phone-based application. We will then test the efficacy of this application with patients through clinical application and interviews and use feedback from both patients and clinicians to improve this application. This app will help promote better oral health and alleviate barriers to accessing oral health care advice for all New Zealanders, especially in communities with the highest needs. Our research has the potential to reduce tooth loss, mitigate high treatment costs and improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
Professor Madhav Bhatia, Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science, Christchurch
Draining away pancreatic inflammation
$150,000
Chronic pancreatitis is a chronic inflammatory and fibrotic disease of the pancreas that can lead to life-altering debilitating pain, malnutrition, diabetes, and pancreatic cancer. It is a major health problem in Aotearoa New Zealand and currently there are no effective treatment or preventive measures available. This project will investigate the body's own drainage system, lymphatic drainage, in chronic pancreatitis working with a mouse model of chronic pancreatitis and human pancreatic tissue. We aim to demonstrate that enhancing lymphatic drainage pharmacologically will decrease inflammation and fibrosis in the pancreas and will be the first time that pancreatic lymphatics have been targeted as a potential therapy. The study has the potential to completely change the treatment paradigm of chronic pancreatitis and impact the lives of millions of patients worldwide.
AI in Healthcare
Professor Tim Eglinton, Department of Surgery and Critical Care, Christchurch, and Dr Arthur Morley-Bunker, of the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science
Improving gastrointestinal cancer outcomes with AI-enhanced digital pathology
$699,734
Cancers of the bowel and pancreas cause many deaths in Aotearoa New Zealand. At present, doctors use tests that are not always accurate to decide how aggressive a patient's cancer is and what treatment they need. This research aims to create better tools to predict how these cancers will behave. We will use new artificial intelligence (AI) methods to study digital images of biopsy samples, combined with other patient information, to develop a tool that can more accurately show if a patient needs extra treatment or can avoid unnecessary surgery. Our team will scan tissue samples, develop and test the AI models, and check them against real patient results. This will help doctors make better decisions, leading to more personalised treatment, fewer side effects, and better survival rates. By targeting treatment more precisely, our research will save healthcare costs and deliver better outcomes and value for New Zealanders.
