PARC involvement in project development
In 2025, Dr Ruth (Lute) Faleolo, was engaged in consultation and advisory roles with the Connecting2u (C2U) Pacifikai team, working closely with Pacifikai health worker and researcher Paulina Ratukula, who led the Pacifikai co-design process. Through this collaboration, Dr Faleolo contributed Pacific research expertise, community perspectives, and culturally grounded approaches to support the development of content and strategies that reflected the values, strengths, and lived experiences of Māori and Pacific families. This work helped ensure that the program remained community-informed, culturally responsive, and aligned with the aspirations of the families it seeks to serve.
PARC involvement in research and evaluation
In 2026, Dr Ruth (Lute) Faleolo, was engaged in consultation and advisory with Dr Neil Harris, the Director, Higher Degree Research for the Health Group and Professor of Public Health, within the School of Medicine and Dentistry at Griffith University. PARC researchers Dr Agapetos Aia-Fa’aleava and Ms Tiaho Selwyn Jordan were successful in securing contracts with the Griffith University Research team, led by Dr Amanda Wedemeyer, alongside Dr Neil Harris.
CONNECTING 2 U
C2U Pacifikai is a culturally tailored text messaging program that delivers free parenting advice, health information, and developmental support to Māori and Pacific families during pregnancy and the early years of a child's life.
Griffith University evaluation
Culturally Grounded Digital Health Innovation
Developed through a partnership between Children’s Health Queensland Pacifikai, Griffith University, and community partners, the Connecting2u (C2U) Pacifikai program delivers culturally tailored health information, parenting support, and developmental guidance to Māori and Pacific families via mobile phone text messaging. The initiative combines evidence-based health promotion with Māori and Pacific cultural values, knowledge systems, languages, and family-centred approaches. Through community-led co-design, Pacifikai has helped ensure that the content reflects the strengths, aspirations, and lived experiences of Māori and Pacific communities, creating a digital health platform that is both culturally meaningful and accessible.
Culturally Grounded Research and Evaluation
Researchers from the Pacific Australia Research Centre (PARC) are working alongside the Griffith University research team to undertake a culturally grounded evaluation of the C2U Pacifikai program. Guided by co-design principles and Indigenous and Pacific research approaches, the evaluation seeks to understand how culturally responsive digital health interventions can strengthen family wellbeing, engagement with health services, and parenting confidence among Māori and Pacific families. This collaborative research recognises the importance of community voice, cultural knowledge, and relational ways of working in generating evidence that is relevant, respectful, and beneficial to the communities it serves.