Housing and Health of Kiribati Migrants Living in New Zealand
He Kainga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme, Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
Academic Editor: Philippa Howden-Chapman
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(10), 1237; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101237
Received: 1 September 2017
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Revised: 15 October 2017
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Accepted: 16 October 2017
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Published: 17 October 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Housing and Health)
Settlement is a complex process of adjustment for migrants and refugees. Drawing on recent research on the settlement experiences of Kiribati migrants and their families living in New Zealand, this article examines the role of housing as an influencer of the settlement and health of Kiribati migrants. Using qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen Kiribati migrants (eight women and six men) representing 91 family members about the key issues and events that shaped their settlement in New Zealand. The stories told by participants affirm the association between housing and health. The study serves as an important reminder that children bear a great cost from living in poorly insulated and damp housing, and adults bear the mental costs, including social isolation resulting from inadequate rental housing. Detailed information about how this migrant group entered the private rental housing market, by taking over the rental leases of other Kiribati migrants vacating their rental properties, indicated some of the unintended consequences related to a lack of incentives for landlords to make improvements. With the most vulnerable families most at risk from inadequate housing, this research concludes that there is a need for minimum housing standards to protect tenants.
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Keywords:
housing; settlement; Kiribati migrants; health and well-being
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Teariki, M.A. Housing and Health of Kiribati Migrants Living in New Zealand. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 1237. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101237
AMA Style
Teariki MA. Housing and Health of Kiribati Migrants Living in New Zealand. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14(10):1237. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101237
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeariki, Mary A. 2017. "Housing and Health of Kiribati Migrants Living in New Zealand" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 10: 1237. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101237
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