Kristi Shaw
Last month, Unitec’s E-press published a paper from 2022 Bold Innovator Scholarship recipient and Master’s in Applied Practice graduate Kristi Shaw.
Kristi’s $15,000 scholarship grant is being used to help create a project for parents caring for children with anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is one of the most prevalent mental health concerns internationally, with one in four people experiencing it in their lifetime. The rate of anxiety in children is growing with about one in ten children experiencing moderate to severe anxiety disorder, even before Covid hit.
The research paper is the latest output from Kristi’s research and was written in collaboration with her Master’s supervisor and Unitec Social Practice lecturer Dr Geoff Bridgman.
“It uncovered the mostly invisible and challenging experiences of mothers caring for a child with an anxiety disorder and the value of their reciprocal relationships with their children for both their health and wellbeing. In addition, it explored social identity in making meaningful connection using a generative action-oriented social approach to address anxiety in the community. An appreciative inquiry, using social constructionist theory, and underpinned by elements of kaupapa Māori values, was utilised to explore the research questions.”
Read the paper here “Creating Appreciation and Community Support for Mothers Caring for a Child with an Anxiety Disorder.”