Conceptualising relational care from an Indigenous Māori perspective: A scoping review

Abstract

ObjectiveTo identify and describe the attributes of relational care from an Indigenous Māori healthcare consumer perspective.Data SourcesCINAHL Plus, Ovid MEDLINE, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health, Scopus, New Zealand Index, the Ministry of Health Library, New Zealand Research and Google Scholar were searched between 23 and 30 May 2022.MethodsThis scoping review used the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews, thematic analysis and the Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendations framework for the synthesis of the findings.ResultsA total of 1449 records were identified, and 10 sources were selected for final review. We identified five relational attributes that were most important to Māori: (1) the expressive behaviours and characteristics of healthcare professionals (HCPs), (2) communication to facilitate the healthcare partnership, (3) appreciating differing worldviews, (4) the context in which healthcare is delivered and (5) whanaungatanga (meaningful relationships).ConclusionThe relational attributes identified are inextricably linked. Connecting with HCPs and developing a therapeutic relationship is fundamental to improving consumer experience and engagement with mainstream healthcare services. Whanaungatanga is fundamental to meaningful engagements with HCPs. Future research should explore how relational care is practiced in acute care settings when clinician–consumer interactions are time‐limited, examine how the health system influences the capacity for relational care and how Indigenous and Western paradigms can co‐exist in healthcare.ImplicationsThis scoping review can inform future projects addressing health equity for Indigenous communities by creating environments that prioritise culturally safe relational care and value Indigenous knowledge systems.Reporting MethodWe used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‐ScR) Checklist.No Patient or Public ContributionNo patient or public contribution.

Experiences and Acceptability of a Weight Loss Intervention for Diabetes (Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial—DiRECT) in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Qualitative Study within a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

“…In a kaupapa Māori context, this reflects values of whanaukataka/whanaungatanga or honoka/hononga (interconnectedness) and whakawhanaukataka/whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building) [ 68 ]. These principles are crucial when working with Māori and Pacific communities: positive health outcomes require reciprocal and trusting relationships between culturally competent healthcare professionals and their patients [ 68 , 69 , 70 ]. Culturally tailored support for weight loss and weight loss maintenance should acknowledge the social and cultural strengths and challenges important to the individual, such as the centrality of food to cultural identity, the norms and expectations surrounding eating, and the importance of family and wider community identified by our participants.…”

Relationality as Relationalities and a Model of Human (and Other) Justice Through Qualitative Inquiry

“…While many indigenous ways of knowing and being maintain a special relationship with the land, seeing land itself as an intra-active agent, the same might be said of relationships with humans: for instance, concepts like the M aori whanaungatanga and the pan-South African belief of Ubuntu. Whanaungatanga, which has also been translated as kinship or extended family-like relationships (Bishop et al, 2014;Pene & Clark, 2023). Bishop et al explain that whanaungatanga is a concept that promotes shared responsibility and nurturing within groups, one that becomes central to M aori thinking and being in the world.…”