Our Tamariki

Our Tamariki is an early-life nutrition resource, developed in collaboration with Cook Islands communities, to promote awareness of the importance of a healthy start to life.

Development of this resource

A community-based participatory research design was used to explore community views and opinions and to guide the development of a culturally relevant health promotion resource for the Cook Islands. A wide range of disciplines and community groups were involved in the booklet’s development. These included leaders from the House of Ariki and Koutu Nui, local health professionals, mothers, grandmothers, public health staff, Child Welfare and Internal Affairs representatives, theology students, and members of the National Youth Council.

Participants in all research groups expressed their overwhelming support for a Cook Islands specific resource that focused on communicating early-life nutrition concepts to the general population. They discussed the benefits of having a go-to booklet that could explain evidence-based recommendations in everyday language. Participants agreed that this resource would be helpful not only for prospective mothers and fathers but also to educate the wider community.

This poster describes how the resource was co-designed with the Cook Islands community (click here to enlarge).

For further reading, see:
Tu’akoi, S., Tamarua-Herman, N., Tairea, K., Vickers, M. H., Aung, Y. Y. M., & Bay, J. L. (2020). Supporting Cook Island communities to access DOHaD evidence. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 11(6), 564–572.