August 26, 2014
Spend up at end costly for whanau
A Maori health researcher says end of life care is putting whanau into debt.
Tess Moeke Maxwell has been studying kaumatua as part of a wider Cost of Care study.
She says families talked about the high costs, not just the cost of medical care and medicines but also special foods desired by koro and kuia such as kaimoana.
There is also the cost of manaakitanga, taking care of guests who come to see a dying relative, or of going to visit ancestral places before people die.
"People got into debt. They got credit cards, sometimes not just one, two, three. They got bank loans, they got overdrafts, one person was declared insolvent. So I think there's a real issue here," Ms Maxwell says,'
Further research is planned.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TESS MOEKE MAXWELL CLICK ON THE LINK
http://www.waateanews.com/play_podcast?podlink=MjE0NDQ=
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