# Guide for health professionals caring for kaumātua | Kupu arataki mō te manaaki kaumātua

- Library record: doc-0146
- Publisher: Health Quality & Safety Commission Te Tāhū Hauora
- Publisher page date: 28 August 2023
- Collection: Frailty care guides | Ngā aratohu maimoa hauwarea, 2023 edition
- Original library capture: June 2026
- Source verification: 8 October 2026
- Original PDF: `public/pdfs/2023 - HQSC - Guide for Health Professionals Caring for Kaumatua.pdf` — 11 pages, numbered 20–30 in the bundled collection extract.

## Sources

- [Official guide and accessible web text](https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/resources/resource-library/guide-for-health-professionals-caring-for-kaumatua-kupu-arataki-mo-te-manaaki-kaumatua-frailty-care-guides-2023/)
- [Official standalone PDF](https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/assets/Our-work/Improved-service-delivery/Aged-residential-care/Publications-resources/Frailty-Care-Guides/04_FCG2023_Caring_for_kaumaatua_guide_WEB.pdf?hash=860c490f53795baa20e1f923254e30ddb048ad3a)
- [Complementary cultural considerations video series](https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-work/improved-service-delivery/aged-residential-care/cultural-considerations/) — published 19 September 2025; page modified 23 June 2026.

## Practical guidance

The guide supports conversations about assessment and care with kaumātua and whānau, including in aged residential care.

- It uses kaumātua broadly for Māori elders while acknowledging traditional leadership roles (standalone PDF pages 1–2).
- Cultural knowledge, language, identity and experiences vary. Ask about individual needs and let whānau lead; assumptions can cause whakamā (pages 2–3).
- Recognise strengths and contributions: enable hosting guests, involvement in the care community and welcoming whānau (pages 2, 4).
- Include cultural identity and spiritual wellbeing in care planning, with whānau involvement (pages 5, 8).
- Respect privacy and personal space. Keep items that touched the head or body away from food, drink or medication surfaces (pages 6–7).

Use the guide with the kaumātua and whānau to discuss care preferences. Staff can use the complementary videos for team learning. This is a conversation aid, not a comprehensive cultural resource or a single set of preferences applicable to every Māori elder.

## Provenance and scope

The existing PDF was inspected and compared with HQSC's official web guide and standalone PDF. Its eleven pages were previously recorded incorrectly as two. The 2023 publication, June 2026 capture and October 2026 verification remain distinct. Later videos do not establish a new guide edition. The source describes its cultural knowledge as taonga and asks readers to respect it; this brief asserts no additional reuse rights.