Whakawhanaungatanga-Building trust and connections: A qualitative study indigenous Māori patients and whānau (extended family network) hospital experiences.

Aims: Investigated the experiences of Māori (the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand) patients and whānau (extended family network) engaging with acute hospital inpatient services and their priorities for a Māori-centred model of relational care.

Design: A qualitative Māori-centred research design using a Thought Space Wānanga (learning through in-depth group discussion, deliberation and consideration) approach.

Methods: Two wānanga were conducted between May 2022 and June 2022, with 13 Māori patients who had been acutely hospitalized within the past 12 months and their whānau members.