Lay summary
Palliative care and end of life care access is a recognised human right. Disparities in accessing palliative care are known to exist. There have been recent attempts to learn more about the unique and variable understandings of palliative care and end of life care from different cultural perspectives. While understanding of different cultural perspectives has grown, there remain gaps in the delivery of culturally appropriate care in the palliative care setting. The aim of this research is to develop an understanding of how the Cook Islands-based palliative care model, Te vaerua kopu tangata ora (the wellness of the family spirit), can practically be applied in the clinical setting and to explore its transferability to wider Pacific communities. This research will contribute to the limited body of knowledge on cultural understandings of palliative care and address the practical application of a Pacific model of palliative care in the clinical setting.