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Kokua Mau Monthly Meeting Feb 2025

February 27 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm HST

Thur 2/27 Kōkua Mau Meeting – What Matters to Native Hawaiian Elders: Care Preferences

Please join the first 2025 Kōkua Mau meeting to get updates and to hear about a recent study on Native Hawaii Kūpuna Care preferences led by the lead author UH Social Work Asst. Professor Miquela Ibrao.

A study by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hā Kūpuna – National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders has examined the end-of-life care preferences of Native Hawaiian kūpuna (Elders). Led by Laguna Pueblo and Quechan woman, Assistant Professor Miquela Ibrao, researchers from UH and ALU LIKE, Inc. identified culturally specific approaches to support kūpuna values in healthcare.

“Death is not an end but a transition that honors relationality, ancestors and the land,’ Assistant Professor Ibrao said. “Decolonizing end-of-life care means respecting cultural beliefs and embracing Indigenous wisdom about healing and living well.” The study, published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, is based on interviews with 20 kūpuna aged 60 and over from rural areas across Hawaiʻi. It highlights four key themes.

  1. Cultural perspectives on death: Kūpuna view death as a transition that acknowledges relationships with ancestors and the land.
  2. Traditional healing practices: Lāʻau lapaʻau (herbal medicine) and lomilomi (massage) are essential aspects of care.
  3. Family-centered decision-making: ʻOhana (family) plays a central role in healthcare choices, with deceased ancestors and the ʻāina (land) seen as sources of guidance and healing.
  4. Preference for home-based care: Many kūpuna wish to age and die at home but fear burdening their families, with limited long-term care options in rural areas adding to the challenge.

Thur Feb 27
3-4:30pm 

Please join us for our Virtual Monthly Meeting on zoom, to learn, laugh, mingle and network. Subscribe to our eNewsletter for the most up-to-date information and zoom log-ins. A recording of many of our meetings are available on our YouTube channel, in case you might have missed it.

Each month’s topic is announced in our eNewsletter

Each month we have updates about events in the community and one or more guest speakers.

*Please note that there are always months with five Thursdays. The meeting is on that last (5th) Thursday of that month (except November & December when we have a combined meeting after Thanksgiving).