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  • 23 hours ago
  • 6 min read

Healing After Trauma for South Asian Women in Aotearoa: Toward Culturally Safe Practice


Information Sheet for Participants

Thank you for showing an interest in this project. Please read this information sheet carefully before deciding whether or not to participate. If you decide to participate, we thank you. If you decide not to take part, there will be no disadvantage to you and we thank you for considering our request.


What is the Aim of the Project?

This study aims to understand how South Asian women in Aotearoa New Zealand heal after experiencing trauma. It explores what supports their healing, what makes it harder, and how services can better provide culturally safe and effective care. By listening to women’s experiences and perspectives, the study will help identify ways to improve trauma-related services for South Asian communities.

This research is being completed by Jannine Bhawan as part of her Master’s Thesis in the Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch, at the University of Otago.


What Type of Participants are being sought?

We are inviting:

  • Women aged 18 years or older

  • Identify as South Asian (e.g., Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Afghan, or similar heritage)

  • Women who have taken part in any form of healing after trauma in Aotearoa New Zealand in the last five years. This may include formal trauma therapy, traditional healing, spiritual or religious practices, community-based support, or other healing pathways

  • Can take part in English or with interpreter support

Exclusion criteria: Under 18 years old; have not attended trauma therapy in Aotearoa; feel that participation may negatively affect wellbeing at this time.


What will Participants be Asked to Do?

If you agree to take part in this project, you will be asked to:

  • Join a one-on-one interview (in person or online) lasting about 60–90 minutes.

  • Talk about your experiences of trauma therapy, including what worked well, what did not, and what could be improved, through a series of guided questions.

  • Agree to have the conversation audio recorded (with your consent).

The interview will be semi-structured, which means that there will be some key topics and questions planned, but the conversation can also move in directions that are important to you. This allows you to share your experiences in your own way while helping us understand what matters most from your perspective.

You can skip any question, pause at any time, or end the interview if you wish. If you feel upset, you can stop and access a list of free, confidential support services that will be provided.

Please be aware that you may decide not to take part in the project without any disadvantage to yourself of any kind.


What Data or Information will be Collected and What Use will be Made of it?

During this study the University of Otago researchers will record information about you and your study participation.

You will be asked to provide some background information through a short form and discussion at the start of the interview. This will include your age, ethnicity, gender, diagnosis (if any), the type or types of trauma therapy you have received, and the setting in which you received this therapy (for example, a public health service, community organisation, or private practice). This information helps the researchers understand how different therapy approaches and settings may influence people’s experiences.

The interview data will include what you choose to share about your experiences of trauma therapy. The interview will be audio recorded (with your consent) to ensure accuracy.


Open Questioning

This project involves an open-questioning technique. The general topics include:

  • Experiences of attending trauma therapy in Aotearoa NZ

  • Cultural factors that influenced the therapy experience

  • What made you feel safe or unsafe in therapy

  • Barriers or challenges to accessing support

  • Suggestions for making therapy more culturally safe and effective

The exact questions will depend on the flow of the interview. There are set questions for this project, but they will depend on the flow of the session. The University of Otago Human Ethics Committee has reviewed the exact questions.

If the conversation moves into an area you are uncomfortable with, you may decline to answer or end the interview at any time without disadvantage.

Once all interviews have been completed, the researcher will analyse the data to identify key patterns and meanings across participants’ experiences. This process aims to develop an understanding of the main themes that emerge from what people share. These themes will be presented in the final report, supported by quotes from participants’ interviews. Care will be taken to ensure that no one is identifiable through the use of quotes or descriptions.


De-identified (Coded) Information

To make sure your personal information is kept confidential, information that identifies you will not be included in any report generated by the University of Otago. Instead, you will be identified by a code. The research will keep a list linking your code with your name, so that you can be identified by your coded data if needed. The results of the study may be published or presented, but not in a form that would reasonably be expected to identify you.


Identifiable Information

Identifiable information is any data that could identify you (e.g. your name, date of birth, or address). Only researchers will have access to your identifiable information. The interview will be audio recorded so that the researchers can ensure the information collected from you is accurate. The audio-recording will be typed into a written form by a transcriber and information that potentially identifies you or anyone else will be removed. The transcriber will sign a confidentiality agreement. There is a small risk that the recording will include information (such as names or places) that could potentially identify you or your whānau. Once transcribed, the recording will be kept in a password protected file and only be accessed by the research team.


Security and Storage of Your Information.

Your identifiable information is held by the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Christchurch, during the study. After the study it is transferred to a secure archiving site and stored for at least 10 years, then destroyed.


Risks

Although efforts will be made to protect your privacy, absolute confidentiality of your information cannot be guaranteed. Even with coded and anonymised information, there is no guarantee that you cannot be identified. The risk of people accessing and misusing your information is currently very small, but may increase in the future as people find new ways of tracing information.


Rights to Withdraw Your Information.

You may withdraw your consent for the collection of information by informing the research team. If you withdraw your consent, your study participation will end, and the study team will stop collecting information from you.


Rights to Access Your Information.

You have the right to request access to your information held by the research team. You also have the right to request that any information you disagree with is corrected. If you have any questions about the collection and use of information about you, you should ask a member of the research team.


Is there any risk of discomfort or harms from participation?

The risks of taking part in this study are small. It is possible that talking about your experiences may bring up some difficult feelings. You can have a support person present and the interviewer will be a registered health professional with experience in the mental health field. Any time during the interview you can take a break or stop the interview without reason. If you feel uncomfortable about a question, you do not have to answer.


There may be fears around confidentiality of the participants. Every effort will be made to preserve the confidentiality of the participants, including avoiding the inclusion of quotations which may identify the individual.


Is there any benefit from participation?

While there is no direct benefit, many people value the opportunity to share their story in a supportive, confidential setting and to contribute to research that may improve services for South Asian women in the future. You can also receive a plain-language summary of the findings. A small gift of $50 will be offered in recognition of your time. We can reimburse reasonable travel costs for in-person interviews (e.g., public transport fare or mileage at university rates).


Will Participants be Provided with the Results?

Yes. You can request a plain-language summary of the results once the study is complete.


What if Participants have any Questions?

If you have any questions about our project, either now or in the future, please feel free to contact either: -

Jannine Bhawan,

Registered Nurse

Master's student

University of Otago, Christchurch


Jenni Manuel

Student supervisor

Senior Lecturer

University of Otago, Christchurch


This study has been approved by the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee -Te Pae Matatika Tangata, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka (H25/0666). If you have any concerns about the ethical conduct of the research, you may contact the Committee through the Human Ethics Committee Administrator (ph +643 479 8256 or email humanethics@otago.ac.nz). Any issues you raise will be treated in confidence and investigated and you will be informed of the outcome.

If you want to talk to someone who isn’t involved with the study, you can contact independent health and disability advocate on:


Phone: 0800 555 050

Fax: 0800 2 SUPPORT (0800 2787 7678)

For Māori cultural support please contact: maorihealthadvancement.uoc@otago.ac.nz

You can also contact the health and disability ethics committee that approved this study on: humanethics@otago.ac.nz





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