A Systematic Review of Pacific Collective Responses to COVID-19 (Im)Mobility

Abstract

This article presents a systematic review of Pacific collectives' responses to mobility disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining how communities negotiated the relational dynamics of mobility and immobility. Guided by three review questions—(1) How did Pacific collectives navigate (im)mobility during COVID-19? (2) What roles did digital mobilities and the Digital Vā play in sustaining connection? (3) What conceptual and methodological directions emerge for future Pacific mobilities research?—the review synthesises 20 publications (2020–2024). Sources were identified through database searches (Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar), journal archives, and relevant grey literature, using inclusion criteria that privilege Pacific perspectives and culturally grounded analysis. The thematic synthesis identifies five response areas—empowering networks, maintaining connections, strengthening intergenerational ties, mobilising educational collectives, and redistributing resources—and four cross-cutting themes—reconnection, revival, redefining, and reimagining. Together, these demonstrate how families and communities indigenised immobility by renewing cultural practices, reshaping digital relational spaces, and creatively reconfiguring tā (rhythms of time) and vā (relational space). Conceptually, the review advances understandings of relational (im)mobility, by distinguishing general digital mobilities from the culturally grounded Digital Vā, which extends Indigenous ethics of reciprocity, care, and collective wellbeing into online spaces. By foregrounding Pacific-authored scholarship, this article contributes to debates on mobility justice and digital mobilities, challenging deficit-driven narratives and highlighting culturally embedded forms of resilience, adaptation, and collective agency that emerged during the pandemic.