Health Communication Needs of Southeast Asian Migrant Children in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Qualitative Study

Children, especially migrant children, face challenges in participating in health communication with health professionals worldwide. Southeast Asian migrant children possibly encounter this issue in Aotearoa New Zealand, as limited literature explores their needs, and there is a notable lack of studies considering children’s perspectives. This study describes the health communication needs of New Zealand Southeast Asian migrant children (aged 7-12 years) from the children’s perspective. Individual interviews with 13 Southeast Asian migrant children were conducted. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken to generate shared meanings as themes. Participants shared their understanding of health concepts and a range of health communication experiences, which generated three themes: readiness for participation, the challenges of health conversations, and a child-friendly atmosphere. Overall, unmet health communication needs of Southeast Asian migrant children are suggested in this study, which signals a need for changes in practice to promote children’s health communication participation.