Māori end-of-life tikanga and kawa

Informing protective caregiving practices

October 9 2017

Tess will be giving a presentation this Wednesday, 11 October from 3.30-4.30 in Building 505, Room B55. University of Auckland, Grafton Campus. See below for details.

NZ palliative care services are informed by a Western understanding of “a good death” which does not always reflect diverse Māori perspectives. The kaumātua who guide the Te Ārai Kaumātua Rōpū (Te Ārai Palliative Care & End of Life Research Group, School of Nursing, UoA) identified a need to conduct a study of Māori end-of-life care tikanga (“values and principles”) and kawa (“protocols and rules”) that individuals, whānau, hapū and iwi draw from, and culturally evolve to inform protective caregiving practices.

Tess will foreground the aims of this qualitative kaupapa Māori Health Research Council funded Rangahau Hauora project as well as reflect on the findings of the Pae Herenga pilot.

The pilot study highlighted the diversity of mātauranga Māori amongst Māori whānau carers. It also confirmed the need for an in-depth study of end-of-life care mātauranga. This information is urgently needed by whānau and palliative care service providers to support the rapidly growing ageing Māori population and palliative care need.

For more on the study watch Tess on TV.