In this newsletter we continue
profiling the research team leading Growing Up in New Zealand. Dr
Polly Atatoa Carr is an Associate Director of the study and a
specialist in Public Health Medicine. Polly is an Honorary Senior
Lecturer at The University of Auckland, based at the Waikato
Clinical School. Her major research interests are the societal and
cultural impact on health, life course development and equity;
research ethics; and the translation of evidence into effective and
responsible policy.
Polly's academic career began with studying science and
molecular biology at the Universities of Waikato and Auckland.
While in molecular medicine, Polly felt that her work was a little
too distant from any tangible population impact so she plucked up
the courage to apply to medical school, completing her medical
training in Auckland and Hamilton. For the next few years Polly
conducted her clinical practice in Rotorua until the very premature
birth of her first daughter brought her back to the Waikato for
family support.
While in Rotorua, Polly found the most satisfying aspect of
working with patients was helping them and their whānau with
aspects of preventative health and wellbeing. Polly worked with
landlords, councils and community advocates to improve the health
system journey for patients and their support network.
Polly was able to continue this role in Hamilton working with
ACC in injury prevention, looking at barriers to diabetes care for
Māori whānau and Pacific peoples, and completing her specialist
medical training as a Public Health Physician. During this time
Polly has continued to be motivated by her passion for equity and
improving population wellbeing by working both within and outside
of the health sector. She has worked for Te Puna Oranga and the
Population Health Service at the Waikato District Health Board, in
partnership with the Waikato Regional Council, for the National
Heart Foundation developing a guideline for rheumatic fever
prevention, and with the Ministry of Health working on a framework
for Māori Research Ethics.
The opportunity to work with Growing Up in New Zealand arose in
early 2009, and Polly is now an Associate Director of the study and
leads the Culture and Identity Domain. Being based in the Waikato
is important to Polly, as this is where her family have lived and
worked, and where she was born and raised. Being able to help
ensure that participants from the Waikato were successfully
enrolled, and continue to be involved in Growing Up in New Zealand
is an important part of her role.
"The Waikato region contributes a strong Māori voice to the
study, as well as bringing important perspectives from 'South of
the Bombay's'. The involvement of the diverse cultures in Growing
Up in New Zealand gives the study, and the information that we
gather, a unique richness and meaning".
Like many of the parents that participate in Growing Up in New
Zealand, Polly is passionate about balancing her work with her own
family life and community commitments. Polly's husband is Cook
Island, from the island of Mangaia, and with three young daughters
and a teenage stepdaughter, cultural, family and community
activities are important to her own wellbeing and identity.