Conceptualizing cultural safety in a clinical setting: how can health professionals implement culturally safe practice with Indigenous patients?

Abstract

Despite emerging research on cultural safety training for healthcare and social services workers, there remains a gap in the literature on ways by which regulated health professionals can practically implement culturally safe practices for Indigenous patients. This scoping review is aimed at conceptualizing different ways by which healthcare professionals can implement cultural safety into their practice. This can be done through human resources, community partnership, engagement, and the manipulation of physical spaces. Within each of the categories, practical examples of cultural safety were identified. The literature search yielded 41 articles and was conducted using key-word searches. Articles were then screened using the inclusion and exclusion criteria to find papers investigating practical implications for culturally safe healthcare. The literature review was divided into four sections: 1) human resources; 2) communication; 3) engagement; and 4) partnership, health services, and physical spaces. In the human resources category, results include incentivizing employees who strive for cultural safety and recruiting local Indigenous community members. The communication, engagement, and partnership search yielded findings such as demedicalizing terms and using family meetings as a means of communication. Findings in the health services portion included delivering health education to patients in the form of circle sharing and including traditional foods in nutritional counseling. Lastly, the physical spaces category produced results such as displaying local Indigenous artwork and making traditional medicines and materials available to patients. Results from the review offered real-life examples that can be used to reduce the gap between cultural safety training and execution of culturally safe health care delivery.