The Treaty Of Waitangi - Mental Health Crisis Management

THE TREATY OF WAITANGI 1
The Treaty Of Waitangi
Name of the University
Author Note

APPLICATION FOR A SCHOLAR PRACTITIONER2
In New Zealand, the risk of mental stress and addiction is very high. Due to high
treatment cost, the Maori people, their families, along with whanau, is unable to access
healthcare service(Baker, 2017). There is a crisis in the Maori community regarding the
mental health of unprecedented proportions. The mental health crisis management helps in
ensuring the safety and emotional stability of people experiencing an emotional crisis or
mental illness and avoid further deterioration of their health condition. The Maori health
perspective emphasized the significance of four interacting dimensions such as taha wairua
(spiritual health), taha hinengaro (emotional or mental health), taha tinana (physical health)
and taha whanau (family health), which were taken into account by the physicians to provide
a holistic approach of care for the patients(Kopua, Kopua & Bracken, 2019).
At Aotearoa, in New Zealand, the rates of people being affected by mental health and
addiction concerns are estimated to be 50 - 80 % of people over their lifetimes. With the
Maori community, the risk of mental health issues is 1.5 times more likely than non-Maori to
be affected.
Nurses are encouraged to cooperate with Maori people and whanau, support them
throughout their periods of crisis for developing their resilience and adaptive coping
strategies, which will help them to navigate the crisis of mental health with positive
outcomes.
The Treaty of Waitangi is an agreement that was established between the
representatives of the British Crown and the Maori community. It was designed to establish
novel rights and obligations of the Maori people(Came, Cornes & McCreanor, 2018). It
agrees to a partnership with Maori, for protecting their interest. It responses to the needs of
Maori and provides equal opportunities for them in the health sector and other areas. It is a
policy that protects the Maori people from unfavorable effects of colonization, ensuring them

APPLICATION FOR A SCHOLAR PRACTITIONER3
proper access to the benefits of the new society, since Maori community is the primary user
of health service, so health should be given the highest priority. This treaty comes with three
principle principles: Partnership, Protection and Participation(Hayward, 2017). According to
the nursing context, The Maori community has the right to execute their knowledge and
choose strategies that will ensure their well being; in other words, they should be able to
think and take actions for safety management independently(Wirihana & Smith, 2019).
According to the second principle of Participation, the nurses and patients should work
together in improving health outcomes and act fair with each other, sharing a common
purpose, which is ensuring better health.
The “Meihana model” is a framework which was developed as a clinical assessment
for helping health practitioners to improve their clinical and cultural care towards Maori and
non-Maori service users(Pitama et al, 2017). The Meihana model is focussed on enhancing
Maori health through appropriate assessment or interventions and monitoring processes.
Meihana model helps the nurses to provide culturally appropriate and socially determined
care and support to people. There are various components of the Meihana model: Waka
hourua (which signifies double-hulled waka) helps to demonstrate the importance of
considering both whanau and the patients for assessing health. Whanau encourages health
practitioners to be the support network of the patients; they are the stakeholders in patients
health and well being. They are involved in the establishment of collateral history and family
medical history and assess understanding the patient condition and symptoms. Tinana is
involved in maintaining of proper physical health of the patient. They are a important part of
the clinical assessment and cannot be considered without the other relevant components of
the world. Hinengaro deals with the psychological and emotional well-being of the patients,
Ratango hauora is ensuring everyone gets equal access to healthcare services(Martel,
Reihana‐Tait, Lawrence, Shepherd, Wihongi & Goodyear‐Smith, 2020), Wairua enhances