| Jemaima Tiatia-Siau | |
| Thesis1 Title: | The church: friend or foe for our Pacific Island youth?: a New Zealand born perspective |
| Thesis1 Url: | https://hdl.handle.net/2292/20678 |
| Thesis1 Year: | 1997 |
| Thesis2 Title: | Reasons to live : N.Z. born Samoan young people's responses to suicidal behaviours |
| Thesis2 Year: | 2003 |
Jemaima Tiatia-Siau (also Tiatia-Seath) is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Auckland, specialising in Pacific health and wellbeing. Tiatia has studied suicide in the Pacific community in New Zealand, conducting the first national review of suicide deaths, and writing national guidelines for postvention. In 2024 Tiatia-Siau was elected a Foundation Fellow of the Pacific Academy of Sciences. She is the first Pacific woman Pro Vice-Chancellor at any New Zealand university.
Tiatia-Siau is of Samoan descent, and was born in Tokoroa and raised in West Auckland.[1] She completed a master's thesis in 1997 at the University of Auckland, with a thesis on the relationship between the church and Pacific Island youth.[2] Her thesis was later published by the Christian Research Association as the book Caught Between Cultures. Tiatia-Siau then completed a PhD in community health, also at Auckland, focusing on attitudes to suicide in Samoan youth.[3] Tiatia-Siau then joined the faculty of the University of Auckland, rising to full professor in 2024.[4] Tiatia-Siau is a Professor of Pacific Studies, and in 2022 was appointed as Pro-Vice Chancellor Pacific, taking over from Damon Salesa.[5] [6] She is the first Pacific woman Pro Vice-Chancellor at any New Zealand university. Tiatia-Siau also served on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, established as a Crown entity after the 2018 He Ara Oranga inquiry into mental health and addiction.
Tiatia-Siau's research covers suicide prevention and postvention, youth development and health and wellbeing, and climate change.[7] [8] Tiatia-Siau conducted the first review of suicide deaths in the New Zealand Pacific community, and then wrote national guidelines for postvention, interventions taken to reduce the likelihood of 'copycat' suicide attempts.
In 2024, Tiatia-Siau was elected a Foundation Fellow of the Pacific Academy of Sciences.[9]