Kia ora! Thanks for visiting my home page. I am a nurse and scholar with experience working as clinician, teacher, writer and researcher.

I have worked in the academic sector for the last thirteen years, prior to which I worked as a clinician in mental health and maternity.  My expertise as a nurse therapist has made me committed to contributing to better care and communication in nursing. I am interested in the ways in which honouring Te Tiriti, reflective practice and clinical supervision can disrupt hegemonic nursing practices and institutional exclusionary processes. A great deal of my time has been spent considering the ethical and cultural frameworks shaping professional practice.

I am currently a Senior Lecturer at AUT University in Auckland, New Zealand (0.5) and am working to complete a book derived from my PhD. I maintain the Aotearoa Ethnic Network (AEN).

I have a long-standing and passionate interest in contemporary health service delivery and was a member of Counties Manukau District Health Board (2008-2010). My time on the Board provided a valuable opportunity to test theories about equitable health outcomes in the strategic planning of large- scale service delivery. During my time on the Board, I was appointed to both the Maori Advisory committee to the Board (Pou) and the Pacific Health Advisory Committee to the Board (PHAC). During this time I also completed Stage one of Te Kakano, Te Reo. I have also been involved in a wide range of National projects that have been concerned with inequities, health promotion, mental health, migration and womenʼs health. I am currently a Board member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation and have recently completed a term as an inaugural member of the Lotteries Community Sector Research Grant Distribution committee.

I have a range of experience in theoretical and practice-based teaching, curriculum development, administration and management. Much of my academic experience has involved being a Programme Leader and starting up new programmes and developing new programmes in satellite campuses.

My research focuses on health outcomes for marginalised groups—in particular migrants and refugees—using feminist and postcolonial theory to analyse maternity, access to services and resettlement. My recently-submitted PhD used the case of migrant mothers to extend research on the theoretical and political development of cultural safety in Nursing. I have written twelve peer-reviewed articles, over twenty book chapters, a book, and numerous government reports and articles for professional publications. I am on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Transcultural Nursing and the Journal of Diversity in Care, and have acted as a reviewer for many international journals. I have been the primary investigator on grants totalling approximately $130 000 and co-authored funded research grants totalling over one million dollars. In my role as co- ordinator of the Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research, which ended recently I collaboratively undertook projects with community organisations based on respect, care, self-determination of communities and with benefits for communities (not just researchers) at the forefront.

You can contact me at ruth at ruthdesouza.com