New Report Challenges Health Services To Make Whakawhanaungatanga Central To The Care Of Māori After Major Trauma

A new report is calling for health services to ensure whakawhanaungatanga is central to the care and rehabilitation of Māori suffering traumatic injury.

Whakawhanaungatanga is about making connections and relating to people in culturally appropriate ways.

Produced by the Health Quality & Safety Commission and the National Trauma Network, the Ngā whānau Māori wheako ki te tauwhiro pāmamae me te whakaoranga |Whānau Māori experiences of major trauma care and rehabilitation report highlights how experiences of care may influence rehabilitation and outcomes for whānau Māori.

Report author and project lead Sharon Pihema (Ngāti Porou) says while Māori have higher rates of traumatic injury than other population groups, they also access health and social services to support rehabilitation less than non-Māori.

Interviews with 21 Māori aged between 16 and 64 years who had experienced trauma (ranging from brain injury to amputation) following motor vehicle, bike, scooter, falls and assault were captured in the report.

Rehabilitation for whānau Māori was often difficult and complicated, and the impact of major trauma on individuals and their whānau significant. Injuries often completely changed the way people were able to live, work, play and participate in everyday activities, Ms Pihema said.

‘While only four of those interviewed described their rehabilitation experience as entirely positive, several whānau spoke of Māori staff members in hospitals or rehabilitation centres providing valuable cultural support during their stay. They valued this type of manaakitanga and piki ora [wellbeing support, recovery) and were appreciative of how Māori staff helped them in their healing,’ she said.

The place of whakawhanaungatanga, was critical. Many whānau interviewed said that, where kaupapa Māori principles such as wairuatanga (spirituality), whanaungatanga (family connections) and kotahitanga (togetherness) were present, it engaged them in the care process and made their recovery easier and rehabilitation less difficult.

When cultural concepts were included that viewed wellbeing beyond physical injuries, the health and disability system gained an opportunity to improve the quality of care for Māori.

The report makes six recommendations to build culturally and medically responsive health and social services for trauma care, each of which includes explicit actions directed at health services and government agencies.

‘The National Trauma Network looks forward to working with services and agencies to create a stronger understanding of factors that promote positive care experiences and influence longer-term effects of injury among Māori,’ Ms Pihema said.

The report and two complementary resources to help clinicians whakawhanaungatanga with and support whānau Māori who experience trauma events are available at www.hqsc.govt.nz/resources/resource-library/whanau-maori-trauma-care-rehabilitation

Ka wero tētahi pūrongo hou i ngā ratonga hauora kia noho ko te whanaungatanga hei pūtahitanga mō te manaaki i te Māori whaimuri i te pāmamae nui

Ka te karanga atu tētahi pūrongo hou ki ngā ratonga hauora kia mātua whakarite ko te whanaungatanga te pūtahitanga o te manaaki me te whakaoranga o te Māori e pāngia ana ki te wharanga pāmamae.

Ko te whakawhanaungatanga he whakarite hononga tangata e tika ana ā-ahurea nei.

He mea whakaputa nā Kupu Taurangi o Aotearoa rāua tahi ko Te Hononga Whētuki ā-Motu ka arotahi atu te pūrongo nei i ngā wheako ā-tauwhiro me te pēhea e awe ai te mahi whakaoranga me ngā hua mō ngā whānau Māori.

Ka kī mai te kaituhi matua a Sharon Pihema (Ngāti Porou) ahakoa he nui atu te wharanga pāmamae o te Māori i ō ērā atu iwi, ka iti rawa te pānga atu ki ngā ratonga hauora, ratonga pāpori.

Ka kitea i te pūrongo nei ngā uiuitanga i ngā tāngata Māori 16 ki te 64 tau te pakeke nāna nei i wheako te pāmamae (he wharanga roro, he pororere) whaimuri i te tuki waka, paihikara, kutarere, te hinga me te patu.

Uaua ai te whakaoranga mā te whānau Māori me te aha ka hiranga te pānga mai o te pāmamae nui ki te tangata takitahi me ō rātou whānau. Nā te wharanga ka rerekē te oranga o te tangata, tana noho, tana mahi, tana tākaro me ngā mahi o ia rā o ia rā, hei tā Whaea Pihema.

‘Ahakoa he tokowhā noa iho o ērā i uiuia ai i whakaahua mai i ō rātou wheako whakaoranga hei mea huapai, he tokomaha atu anō i kōrero mō ngā kaimahi Māori i ngā hōhipera, i ngā whare whakaoranga rānei nāna nei i kaha tautoko ā-Māori nei tā rātou noho. I tino ngākaunui rātou ki tēnei momo manaakitanga me te pikinga ora, ā, ka mihia nuitia e rātou te mahi a ngā kaimahi Māori hei āwhina i tā rātou whakaoraora’, ko tāna kī.

He tino taonga te whakawhanaungatanga. Tokomaha ngā whānau i uiuia ai i kī mai, ina noho mai ngā mātāpono Māori pērā i te wairuatanga, te whanaungatanga me te kotahitanga, ka rarata atu ki te tukanga tauwhiro e māmā ai tā rātou pikinga ora, ā, ka māmā hoki te whakaoranga.

Kia uru mai ngā huatau ahurea e kīia nei ko te oranga i tua atu i ngā wharanga tinana, ka whai wāhi te pūnaha hauora, pūnaha hauā ki te whakapai ake i te kounga tauwhiro mō te Māori.

E ono ngā tohutohu a te pūrongo nei hei whakarite i ngā ratonga hauora, ratonga pāpori kia tika ai te urupare ā-ahurea, ā-rongoā mō te tauwhiro pāmamae, he mahi tino mārama tō tēnā tohutohu me tō tēnā e hāngai ana ki ngā ratonga hauora me ngā rāngai kāwanatanga.

‘Kei te titiro whakamua Te Hononga Whētuki ā-Motu kia mahi ngātahi me ngā ratonga me ngā rāngai kia kaha piki te māramatanga ki ngā tūāhuatanga e whakatairanga ana i ngā wheako huapai me te whakaawe i ngā pānga mauroa o ngā wharanga o te Māori’, te kī a Whaea Pihema.

Kei tēnei hononga www.hqsc.govt.nz/resources/resource-library/whanau-maori-trauma-care-rehabilitation te pūrongo me ngā rauemi e rua hei koha kia āwhina i ngā mātanga ki te whakawhanaunga me te tautoko i ngā whānau Māori e wheako ana i ngā mea pāmamae.

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