Hauora

Māori have several models of health and wellbeing, with one being particularly influential in Aotearoa; Whare Tapa Whā which was developed by Sir Mason Durie based on the concept of haoura. The purpose was“to encourage people to develop wellbeing, not just fixing up a health problem but becoming well in themselves”.

This model views an individual's health as a meeting house, or whare, with four walls. In order for you to be stable and strong, your walls must be cared for. Those four walls consist of your physical, emotional/mental, social and spiritual wellbeing. 

The roof of Te Whare Tapa Wha represents the holistic nature of wellbeing. It recognises the multifaceted nature of wellbeing and how all dimensions are interconnected. When all these things are in balance, we thrive. When one or more of these is out of balance, our wellbeing is impacted.

Deaf Aotearoa have launched a Hauora service; a nationwide service that understands and responds to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people’s needs, based on the concept of Hauora. Their needs assessment includes viewing the person as a whole, looking at finances, work, income, accessing other services, health and wellbeing, housing etc.

This reinforces the idea that you cannot simply "fix" one area of a person's life without considering the others. True wellbeing requires a comprehensive, integrated approach that nurtures all parts of wellbeing, recognising the interconnection between them. This holistic perspective challenges the often compartmentalised view of wellbeing and reminds us that to truly support someone's wellbeing, we must look at the whole picture, not just isolated parts.