Palliative Care for Maori: Cultural Considerations and Healthcare

This report focuses on the cultural aspects of palliative care for the Maori people, emphasizing the importance of incorporating their beliefs and traditions into healthcare practices. It highlights the Maori model of health, which encompasses spiritual, emotional, physical, and community aspects. The report discusses the significance of spiritual health, emotional expression, physical well-being through rituals and traditional medicines, and the role of family and community support in providing holistic care. It references research indicating a preference for home-based palliative care among the Maori and suggests that healthcare providers should be culturally sensitive to improve the utilization of palliative services. The report emphasizes the need to understand and respect the Maori culture to address their specific care needs effectively.

Palliative care among the Maori.
Healthcare has evolved to incorporate a holistic approach in provision of care. The aspect
of the body as a whole has brought more emphasis on mind, body spirit and emotional wellbeing
(Moeke-Maxwell et al, 2014). All these areas can only be properly addressed by incorporating
the cultural beliefs and traditions of the patients and their family members. In provision of
palliative care, these aspects are important in ensuring quality and a holistic approach. The Maori
are a community that has a very high regards for their culture especially in the context of the
terminally ill, death and bereavement. Provision of the palliative care is properly tailored to fit
into their culture. This has been done to encourage them seek palliative care from healthcare
facilities and hospice.
The Maori model of health in this context is considered as a four sided construct; each
side representing a particular aspect (Muircroft et al, 2010). The first is a spiritual aspect. They
have a belief that good health is related to the unseen and unspoken energies. Their religious
beliefs should be reconciled to ensure that they are at peace. They believed their spiritual health
had a bearing on their physical health. The second was the thoughts and feelings. This was
connecting the mind and the body. Songs, chants and invocations were composed. They openly
expressed emotions, feelings and thoughts of the family members about the prevailing
circumstances. These helped in managing emotional and psychological pain. The third was the
physical aspect. Some cultural practices and rituals are believed to cause body wellbeing. Prayers
and rituals were performed by the priest. The traditional medicines and methods of relieving pain
were a way of physically promoting wellness. The last aspect was family and community. This
gave the people a capacity to belong and share in a community. This emphasized on creation of

social connections to help families and community members emotionally support each other and
cope as they went through pain and grief.
Research has showed that a high number of Maori prefer caring for their terminally ill
from their homes rather than hospice (Frey et al, 2014). To increase their utilization of healthcare
facilities for palliative services, health providers should consider their culture in order to create a
better rapport. This will hall address their care needs.

References.
Gott, M., Moeke-Maxwell, T., Morgan, T., Black, S., Williams, L., Boyd, M., ... & Waterworth,
S. (2017). Working bi-culturally within a palliative care research context: the
development of the Te Ārai Palliative Care and End of Life Research
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Muircroft, W. M., McKimm, J., William, L., & MacLeod, R. D. (2010). A New Zealand
perspective on palliative care for Maori. Journal of Palliative Care, 26(1), 54.
Frey, R., Raphael, D., Bellamy, G., & Gott, M. (2014). Advance care planning for Māori, Pacific
and Asian people: the views of New Zealand healthcare professionals. Health & social
care in the community, 22(3), 290-299.