Open houses and closed rooms: Tokelau housing in New Zealand

The migrant Tokelau community in New Zealand, through the Wellington Tokela u Association. is playing an active role in partnership with the Wellington School of Medicine to develop a research program to help improve the healt h of its people. The relationship between crowded homes and health was inve stigated in six focus groups. While cultural patterns were an essential par t of Tokelau hospitality, the decision to "double up" households was often the result of "rational" economic decision making in relation to household expenditures such as rent and food. The implication for public health pract itioners is that while overcrowding may be a health hazard for residents, t he most effective solutions by the community are higher household income an d more flexible housing designs that accommodate multifamily households.