A Whānau Ora Journey of Māori Men with Chronic Illness: A Te Korowai analysis

Abstract

The Oranga Tāne Māori research project explored the views of tāne Māori (Māori men) with a chronic disease or cancer, and their whānau (families), to discover how they experienced their health care in relation to whānau ora (healthy families). The first phase of developing this research involved developing a local whānau ora framework called Te Korowai. Interviews were undertaken with 47 tāne Māori with chronic disease or cancer and 15 support people. The men had received or were currently receiving care for one or more chronic diseases. Data were analysed using Te Korowai as a conceptual framework. Findings included the foundational importance of “being Māori” as an enabler for health decision-making and service engagement, and whakamā (shyness, embarrassment) as a barrier to effective service provision. Health professionals are urged to look to how they can re-engage individuals and whānau, and to prioritize relationship building and respectful engagement.

Experiences of Māori of Aotearoa New Zealand's public health system: a systematic review of two decades of published qualitative research

“…These experiences led Māori from the included studies to view health practitioners as uninterested in their health and wellbeing. As well as explicit and implicit experiences of racism and discrimination, Māori patients and whānau felt that their wider spiritual and cultural practices were devalued within the mainstream health system: “The hospital deals with your physical problems but they do not deal with your mental and spiritual problems”, 31 and “Get them better, throw them out the door, who cares about their spiritual [health] or whatever” 32 . Subsequently, Māori patients felt that they needed to compromise their cultural and spiritual needs in order to receive hospital care, where “everything is done in a kind of Western way” 27 .…”

“…Subsequently, Māori patients felt that they needed to compromise their cultural and spiritual needs in order to receive hospital care, where “everything is done in a kind of Western way” 27 . Feeling culturally alienated in this manner contributed to patients feeling anxious and worried while in hospital, resulting in requests for earlier discharge than recommended 27,30,32 . Rongoā (traditional medicinal applications and treatment) was used regularly by Māori patients, sometimes instead of prescribed medications 27,28,33 .…”

Service providers’ perspectives, attitudes and beliefs on health services delivery for Aboriginal people receiving haemodialysis in rural Australia: a qualitative study

“…Although they felt challenged by the social complexities relating to the family, most agreed that Aboriginal peoples’ connectedness to the country and family is crucial to health and well-being. These connections are well known within Indigenous societies, where family obligations are frequently prioritised above the individual 39 40…”

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata! (What is the most important thing in the world? It is people!)

“…This research embraced a M aori-centred approach (Pihama 2010), which seeks to understand phenomena from a M aori worldview (Smith 2012) in a way that empowers research participants and M aori communities (Durie 1997;Cunningham 2000;Putaiora Writing Group 2011). Through using collective, participatory and empowering processes, the concerns, interests and preferences of participants were used to guide our research process (Ruwhiu 1999;Pihama et al 2002;Ormond et al 2006;Kerr et al 2010;Kidd et al 2013).…”