Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-20-2020

Publication Title

Religions

Volume

11

Issue

10

Publisher Name

MDPI Journals

Abstract

The contemporary world is endowed with increasingly diverse spiritual and cultural perspectives, yet little is known about the spiritual concerns and spiritual resilience of Māori from Aotearoa New Zealand at the end of life. A context is provided for the value of spiritual assessment and identification of spiritual needs or concerns. Spiritual concerns and the desire to attain a state of ka ea (fulfillment, gratitude, or peace) may point to interventions, helping activities, or referrals that guide treatment. We reflect on qualitative findings from the 2017–2020 Pae Herenga study of 61 caregiving families, their helping professionals, and religious/spiritual leaders. We explore essential spiritual values and practices that support kaumātua (older tribal people) who have a life-limiting illness in achieving a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment at the end of life. Three themes emerged: the relational is spiritual, the need to live into the future, and value of spiritual end-of-life care. While some scholars have lamented the lack of culturally appropriate rapid assessment instruments, we suggest that a more open-ended assessment guide is better suited to understand key elements of spiritual diversity and spiritual concerns, particularly the spiritual strengths and resources that lead to well-being and even thriving at life’s end. Finally, learning about spiritual diversity can assist others to reconnect to lost meanings and regain a more holistic and centred view of life.

Comments

Author Posting © The Authors, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of The Authors for personal use, not for redistribution. The article was published in Religions, Volume 11, Issue 10, October 2020, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100536

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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