The New Zealand medical journal
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As there is growing interest in the role of cultural diversity within healthcare settings it is important to determine how culture can influence such things as pain. A person's culture can impact not only how they perceive and experience pain but also how they interact with healthcare professionals and adhere to advice provided. To better assess and treat pain in different cultures the perspectives and experiences of that culture must be taken into consideration and therefore the present study was undertaken to better understand Māori perspectives of pain. ⋯ While our findings indicate that there is a commonality between cultures with regard to the experience of pain, it is valuable to understand a culture's perceptions and experiences regarding pain before assessing and treating it as indicated in the findings from this study wherein cultural factors such as the role of the whānau (family) and the importance of the development of relationships with healthcare providers were points of emphasis in terms of ways to enhance Māori health.
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Letter Historical Article
Celebrating 20 years of the Smoke-free Environments Act, and the next steps to end the tobacco epidemic.
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Since its development in the early 1960s, the use of CPR in the hospital setting has undergone intriguing changes. After initially being used very selectively, at the discretion of the doctor, the use of CPR rapidly expanded to the point that it was promptly begun on all patients having a cardiac arrest in hospital, regardless of the underlying illness. ⋯ The standard policy of New Zealand hospitals is now for CPR to be attempted on all patients having a cardiac arrest unless a DNR order is in place. We argue that this approach is not consistent with New Zealand law and that current policies should be amended to bring them into line with the Code of Rights and New Zealand law generally.
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There is growing interest in the role of cultural diversity within healthcare settings yet minority ethnic groups are underrepresented in the healthcare literature, including the literature on pain. To better assess and treat pain in different cultures the perspectives and experiences of that culture must be taken into consideration and therefore the present study was undertaken to better understand Māori perspectives of pain. ⋯ The implications of these findings are that established measures can be used when assessing pain in Māori. However, it is beneficial to confirm that the descriptors used in those measures accurately capture the experiences being measured.