Well-being way of life for whanau

Mason Durie developed the four-dimensional health and well-being model on which Whanau Ora is based in the 1980s. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

We live in a society where health or hauora has historically been treated on an individual basis - where there is diagnosis for one or more ailments - and then treatment prescribed.

But this has proven to be an inadequate way of dealing with our overall health and well-being. Now there is growing acceptance of holistic approaches where the well-being of the whole person, including their physical, spiritual and mental health is taken into account.

There is an additional influence to our health and well-being that is equally vital and that is the role and place of the whanau. When we introduced Whanau Ora, it was about the health and well-being of the whole whanau rather than the individual. Whanau Ora is ultimately an approach - a pathway towards transformation.

Those who may describe it as a programme are missing the point - this is a way of life, a prescription for strong and healthy whanau to succeed.

The approach was adapted from a model by Professor Sir Mason Durie who developed Te Whare Tapa Wha in the 1980s - a Maori model based on holistic health and wellness - embracing four dimensions representing the basic beliefs of life - te taha hinengaro (psychological health), te taha wairua (spiritual health), te taha tinana (physical health) and te taha whanau (family health).

The four-dimensional model is symbolised by the four walls of a house where each wall is necessary to the strength and symmetry of the building.

Whanau Ora and the Whare Tapawha model are about reclaiming a traditional Maori approach to health where all elements are intertwined and given equal importance and where well-being is seen as a lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle is also determined by issues such as employment, participation in society, systemic inequalities, the appropriateness of treatment or responses to our health needs and the way in which our culture is portrayed in the media.

Traditional Maori healing, including rongoa Maori, has often been misunderstood and criticised even though it has validity in the Maori world and is recognised by the World Health Organisation.

Rongoa Maori includes the medicinal uses of native plants and is a great example of an holistic approach to achieving good health and wellness because it is about living healthy and maintaining good health rather than just fixing up a specific problem.

There is a spiritual and physical dimension to traditional Maori healing developed by pre-European Maori who had a unique relationship with their environment and understood the balance of nature.

Well-being is more than what can be diagnosed by a health professional.

It is about our active participation and contribution in te ao Maori and to the wider community. It is about the health and well-being of our extended whanau, our hapu, our iwi, our language and culture.

It is about our relationship with the environment and our ability to be active kaitiaki or guardians of our lands, our rivers and streams and our mountains and valleys.

The symbolism of the wharenui in Sir Mason's Whare Tapawha holistic model illustrates the dimensions needed to maintain good health. Just as each corner of the house must be strong and balanced to support the walls and the roof, each dimension of well-being must also be balanced to achieve strength, good health and well-being.