Hawke's Bay woman appointed as new research director for NZ's largest study on child development

Dr Sarah-Jane Paine (Tūhoe) is excited to make a difference in the lives of children and their families through a child development study. Photo / Supplied

A Wairoa woman is leading New Zealand's largest study of child development 'Growing Up in New Zealand', involving more than 6000 children.

Sarah-Jane Paine (Tūhoe), formerly the director of the Tomaiora Research Group based at the University of Auckland's Te Kupenga Hauora Māori, will be taking over the project from Professor Susan Morton.

The study follows the children whose mothers resided in the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waikato District Health Board areas during pregnancy in 2008/2009.

The study followed them before birth and intends to keep following them until the children are at least 21 years old.

"Growing Up in New Zealand is a taonga and is in a unique position to provide valuable insights into the lives of children and families in modern-day Aotearoa New Zealand which can be translated into policy and service delivery to improve lives of our young people," Paine said.

"That's an exciting thing to be a part of."

Paine said the information gathered by the study had never been more important.

"We are living through an extraordinary period in a global pandemic which has affected all of our lives.

"Growing Up gives us the opportunity to explore the impacts of Covid-19 for our rangatahi at a crucial stage in their development and to use this information to help mitigate any long-term effects on their health, wellbeing and education."

Paine trained as an epidemiologist at the University of Otago and spent much of her career investigating ethnic inequities in health and wellbeing, including for mothers and children.

Her desire to use her expertise in research and science to drive real world change for mums and babies stems from personal experience.

As she was preparing to study at university, her sister had a fall while pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy prematurely at 22 weeks.

"My nephew was in Waikato Hospital fighting for his life, and my sister was trying to navigate a health system that was not designed to meet the needs of her or our whānau.

"He was seriously ill, could fit in the palm of a hand and weighed less than a pack of butter.

"On the advice of my dad and my university supervisor, I took that personal experience as a launching pad to explore a broader research question about the impact of events in pregnancy on the health and wellbeing of offspring."

Paine started off her research career in a lab-based project looking at how mothers' wellbeing affected their children's wellbeing.

She grew up in Wairoa, the youngest of five children.

From very early on, her Māori mother instilled in her the need to know her whakapapa and her Pākehā father acknowledged and supported her Māori culture.

"One of my first memories is of learning my pepeha. I didn't grow up speaking te reo, but my mum was really determined to ensure that no matter where I ended up I would know where I was from and the places that were important to my hapū and iwi.

Paine said her Māori culture was deeply important to her and had become an increasingly crucial part of her research career over time.

''I am particularly passionate for Growing Up in New Zealand to accurately reflect and represent Māori communities and to deliver excellent research that addresses the needs of whānau Māori and results in policy change that will benefit Māori communities.

"There's a huge body of evidence to show that changes that benefit Māori whānau ultimately benefit all families, so I'm confident this approach will lead to positive change for all children and families in Aotearoa New Zealand."

Growing Up in New Zealand is currently out in the field collecting information from the study's 12-year-olds and their families online and Paine said she was excited to work with participants as they moved into adolescence.