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Leading Practices in Cultural Safety

HealthCareCAN is working with members, and key stakeholders (Indigenous and health organizations) to further the advancement of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s health-related recommendations. HealthCareCAN is a member of the Indigenous Health Alliance, which will be addressing the TRC’s Calls to Action related to health.

Our members leading system transformation

CHA Learning – helping you build a strong people-centred care culture in your organization

CHA Learning, HealthCareCAN‘s professional development division, has developed the People-Centred Care program to enable healthcare professionals at all levels to lead healthcare change and improvement in partnership with patients, families and providers. Gain skills and knowledge to enable people-centred care, effective engagement activities and positive healthcare experiences with concrete, evidence-based and practical tools that are immediately applicable.

The Role of Food in Healthcare

This webinar, hosted by HealthCareCAN, with support from the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, discusses our research and preliminary findings on the role of food in healthcare, and includes a presentation by a representative from IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Health Authority, who have made significant progress in this area.

Bringing Reconciliation to Healthcare in Canada: Wise Practices for Healthcare Leaders

This HealthCareCAN Report discusses critical issues facing Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and the role that Canadian health leaders play in helping to close the health gap. It also presents wise practices for health leaders and organizations to address the health-related Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) based on a literature review, interviews with key stakeholders, and case studies of several health care organizations.

10 Wise Practices for Healthcare Leaders

Health leaders should consider the following wise practices to guide them in their work to advance reconciliation. The focus of these wise practices is to effect change at the level of the health care organization or institution. Furthermore, leaders of organizations can advocate alongside their Indigenous partners for system-level changes to policy, funding, and governance.

Support local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis leaders in conjunction with their national counterparts at the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and Métis National Council as they negotiate, develop, implement, and evaluate health transformation agreements, and advocate for policy and systems change.

Identify key stakeholders for community engagement and build relationships with them. Stakeholders include representatives from local and regional FN/I/M governments and local Indigenous health service organizations, Indigenous clients, and others. When reaching out to key stakeholders, follow engagement protocols articulated by their respective organizations. Create partnership agreements that include process evaluations and accountability measures for any shared initiatives related to Indigenous health and wellness.

Make reconciliation and Indigenous health equity part of the organization’s strategic plan

Promote the involvement of Indigenous peoples in the organization by recruiting them for governance and leadership positions, advisory circles, community liaisons, Elders’ councils, and other roles; formalize reporting and action-based accountability by the non-Indigenous leadership to prevent tokenistic or nonmeaningful engagement.

Recruit, retain, and mentor Indigenous staff and health care providers at all levels of the organization, including procurement; create working and learning environments where they can thrive, and where Indigeneity and Indigenous knowledge are valued.

Provide anti-racism and cultural safety education to all members of the organization; develop and implement safe processes for both employees and clients to debrief racist or culturally unsafe experiences in the organization; develop and implement processes to document these instances and track progress.

Support Indigenous learners in the health professions by creating safe and respectful clinical learning environments that are free of racism and discrimination; participate in health science outreach programs for younger students.

Enhance the journey of Indigenous clients through the practice of trauma-informed care and programs such as Indigenous navigators, access to traditional foods and healing practices, support from Elders, and landbased healing; the specific initiatives should emerge from the recommendations made by local Indigenous communities, advisors, and clients.

In jurisdictions where data related to race and ethnicity is available, track health outcomes for Indigenous vs. non-Indigenous clients in the organization; appropriate Indigenous data stewardship agreements must be developed and followed.

Understand and support changes to address Indigenous social determinants of health.

For more detailed guidance and other suggestions, health leaders should review the section in the above report on Implementing the TRC’s Calls to Action.

Leading Practices in Cultural Safety

Our members leading system transformation

CHA Learning – helping you build a strong people-centred care culture in your organization

The Role of Food in Healthcare

Bringing Reconciliation to Healthcare in Canada: Wise Practices for Healthcare Leaders

10 Wise Practices for Healthcare Leaders

Related Reading

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