MOVING FORWARD. Improving our cultural competency of Canada's Indigenous populations.

Abstract

Indigenous people in Canada face many barriers to accessing primary health-care services, and a lack of cultural competency by health-care providers may be one of the reasons why. Chelsea Crowshoe, a senior advisor with Alberta Health Services and member of the Piikani First Nation, is hoping to break this barrier by promoting the importance of cultural knowledge and respect to health-care providers Alberta-wide. "My role is developing educational opportunities for health-care providers, and we've started within the awareness and sensitivity level of information," she says. "We believe the program is a two-way street, so not only are we supporting the providers but looking at the way other programs develop their resources and how different health-care policies and guidelines could support traditional ceremonies, like smudging for example."