Patient Safety: Cultural Safety and Anti-Indigenous Racism

In this section :

December 6, 2023, 12 pm – 1:30 pm (ET)

HEC's new patient safety approach includes a broader concept of harm, including harm caused by racism. Cultural safety and anti-racism are essential to supporting safer care. Unfortunately, First Nations, Inuit and Métis people and communities continue to face racism in healthcare.

On December 6, panelists will look at how racism and culturally unsafe care affect the safety and quality of care for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people and communities. Join us to explore strategies and actions for creating culturally safe and equitable care as we take a distinction-based approach to an urgent patient safety issue.

Watch the Webinar via YouTube

Panelists

• Reagan Bartel, Director of Health for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government within Alberta
• Mme. Bobbi Paul-Alook, Secretary of Health and Seniors for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government within Alberta
• Alika Lafontaine, MD, FRCPC; Immediate past-President, Canadian Medical Association; Anesthesiologist, Alberta Health Services; Associate Clinical Professor, University of Alberta
• Lynn Kilabuk, former President of Larga Baffin

Host

Beverley Pomeroy, Senior Program Lead, Healthcare Excellence Canada

Notable and Quotable 

“We all have the same challenges, and we all want the same thing: to be heard and to be acknowledged when we express how we would like help.”- Lynn Kilabuk, former President of Larga Baffin

“Show up and prepare yourself for hearing about people’s traumatic experiences and their frustrations with the health care system. They will share. If you show up, they’ll show up too. You’ll build something a lot better.”- Alika Lafontaine, MD, FRCPC; Immediate past-President, Canadian Medical Association

“Treat every client the way you would want your family member to be treated. All the organizational policies and inclusive initiatives in the world mean nothing when members from our community walk into the emergency room for real health concerns and we’re treated like addicts looking for a fix.”- Mme. Bobbi Paul-Alook, Secretary of Health and Seniors for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government within Alberta

“My word of encouragement is to be that single drop in the bucket, because it adds up. So just look to your own heart. Be responsible for yourself and it will follow. That’s a small step. You don’t have to solve it in one day. Just be a good person.” - Reagan Bartel, Director of Health for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government within Alberta

Resources

• Opening Ourselves: An introduction to anti-oppression practices and frameworks (Healthcare Excellence Canada)
• Trauma and Resiliency Informed Practice in Action (Healthcare Excellence Canada)
• A Journey We Walk Together: Strengthening Indigenous Cultural Competency in Health Organizations
• Measuring Cultural Safety in Health Systems (Canadian Institute for Health Information)
• Cultural Safety and System Change: An Assessment Tool (Northern Health Indigenous Health)
• Indigenous Cultural Safety & Humility: Emergent Understandings (Webinar) (Royal Roads University)
• Cultural Safety: Respect and Dignity in Relationships (Northern Health BC)
• Addressing Racism in the Healthcare System A Policy Position and Discussion Paper (April 2021) (Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada)
• Hassen N, Lofters A, Michael S, Mall A, Pinto AD, Rackal J. Implementing Anti-Racism Interventions in Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 15;18(6):2993. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18062993. PMID: 33803942; PMCID: PMC8000324.
• Monchalin R, Monchalin L. Closing the health service gap: Métis women and solutions for culturally safe health services. Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing Te Mauri- Pimatisiwin. 2018 Jul 16; 3(1).
• Words Matter: Strategies to Reduce Bias in Electronic Health Records (Centre for Health Care Strategies)
• Shared by participant in chat: Nourish