Experiences of Anishinaabe kweok (Anishinaabe momen) accessing health care and dreams for the future

Abstract

The experiences that Indigenous people have with health are impacted by their cultures and the consequences of colonization. The thesis project aims to communicate the experiences that Northern Anishinaabe kweok (Anishinaabe women) are having accessing health care, what health means to them and their dreams for the future of health. The study took place in Sudbury, Ontario. Through storytelling sessions, seven Northern Anishinaabe kweok shared their experiences. Rooted in an Anishinaabe paradigm, hermeneutic phenomenology and thematic analysis were used to understand the stories shared during the storytelling sessions. Storytellers described their conceptions of health, their experiences accessing health care, and their dreams for the future of health care. Experiences accessing health care were defined by interactions with health care providers, outcomes and the environment in which in the interactions took place. The conceptions of health described by the storytellers were influenced by the examples of health they had around them, such as observing their parents. Health was defined by cultural factors, including holism. The storytellers shared two major ways the health care system can be improved; how health care is approached and more education about culturally safe health care for providers and policy makers, as well as more education about the health and the health care system for Indigenous people and community members. The stories support the need to improve health care access and treatment for not only Anishinaabe kweok, but Indigenous people in general.