Addressing stillbirth, neonatal and infant mortality is a fundamental objective of UN Sustainable Development Goal (3) to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for people at all ages. More than 140 countries have already achieved or are on track to meet the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) target of 12 deaths per 1,000 live births, however several Pacific Island nations, including Vanuatu, are yet to track towards meeting this target. The drivers of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) in Vanuatu are largely undetermined, however, maternal nutrition is a strong predictor of foetal and neonatal health, and is likely associated with APOs in Vanuatu. Yet there are considerable knowledge gaps relating to Ni-Vanuatu women’s dietary behaviour, nutrition, and associated APOs.
The MaMi Project seeks to address these knowledge gaps, investigating maternal nutrition and associated health outcomes in Vanuatu. The Project is co-designed with the Vanuatu Ministry of Health and Wan Smolbag, and is the first comprehensive study of women’s nutrition, food security and associated APOs in Vanuatu. In October 2023, the MaMi research team concluded data collection, conducting more than 1,000 interviews (structured surveys) with Ni-Vanuatu women in peri-urban, rural, and remote communities on Efate Island (over 2023-2024). Surveys investigated women’s experiences with pregnancy and birth, as well as retrospective dietary assessments, and the FAO food insecurity experience scale. Additionally, 15 health workers were interviewed to explore their knowledge and experience of maternal nutrition, and provision of women’s health services.
During the summer scholarship period, the research team will enter data collected during the most recent fieldtrip (October 2024) and begin preliminary cleaning and analysis of the dataset. Findings from this study will be shared with in-country collaborators to support the development of health policy and initiatives to advance maternal and child health in Vanuatu.
Dr Georgia Kafer
Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences | School of Health
Primary supervisor: Dr Georgia Kafer
Dr Georgia Kafer is a reproductive physiologist and leads the Fetal and Reproductive Health Laboratory based at UniSC Moreton bay. Georgia is a core member of the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research (ACPIR) and is part of a multidisciplinary team of UniSC researchers interested in understanding the incidence and preventability of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes in the Western Pacific. Through this work, Georgia also strives to help support and enable indigenous researchers in the Western Pacific develop and undertake impactful health research.
HDR Student Mentor: Eliza Kitchener
Ms Kitchener is a PhD candidate and a member of the MaMi Project research team. Eliza’s PhD thesis is investigating Ni-Vanuatu women’s access and intake of folate, and associated adverse pregnancy outcomes. Eliza has completed a Master of Public Health, and has experience in health systems projects in Papua New Guinea as a Program Officer, and Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant with an International Development NGO (ADI). She has experience mentoring HDR and undergraduate students to complete Honour theses and scoping reviews.
The successful student will gain an understanding of research processes, data entry, collation and analysis, whilst adhering to research protocol and maintaining data integrity. The student will be immersed in quantitative and qualitative data collected, gaining valuable insight into Ni-Vanuatu women’s nutrition and food security. Additionally, the student will have the opportunity to attend weekly meetings with the Foetal and Reproductive Health Lab group, becoming part of a collaborative multi-disciplinary research team.
The student will be asked to assist with the project by:
- Supporting digitisation of hard-copy surveys (collected in-country) using Qualtrics software.
- Choosing and applying statistical models.
- Contributing to data analysis.
Key deliverables will include:
- Contribution to the digitisation of data.
- Completion of data analysis on a research question pertaining to the dataset (research question(s) of interest to the student).
- Presentation of work and key findings to ACPIR and key stakeholders.
Following successful completion of these tasks, the student will be eligible for authorship in any subsequent publication of these outputs.
This project would suit a student with a background understanding of nutrition and dietetics, ideally amongst Pasifika populations. The student will be interacting with retrospective dietary assessment and food insecurity surveys; therefore, an understanding of dietary behaviour and underlying socio-environmental determinants of nutrition are desirable. The project would be suitable for a student who has completed NUT205 Public Health Nutrition, or a similar course. Additionally, some experience in research methods is desirable; SCI110 Science Research Methods, NUT333 Health Research Design, or a similar course.
Further, if the student has a knowledge of Bislama and/or Pijin, they may assist with the transcription and translation of health worker interviews, and engage in qualitative content analysis.
The student should be prepared to work from the UniSC Moreton Bay campus.
The student will be collaborating with researchers from the MaMi Project; Dr Georgia Kafer, Dr Rachael Thurecht, and Eliza Kitchener. This project involves previously collected data from the MaMi Project, research co-designed by the Vanuatu Ministry of Health and Wan Smolbag (NGO).
Please contact Dr Georgia Kafer via email with any questions.