Cultural Safety Design Collaborative

The CHU de Québec-Université Laval aimed to improve the experiences of Indigenous families using the intensive care and palliative care lounges at the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec hospital. Together with Indigenous partners, they co-developed welcoming family lounges tailored to Indigenous cultures and experiences. They also offered an Indigenous patient navigator and an Indigenous liaison officer to support families.

The First Nations Health Authority and Métis Nation British Columbia collaborated to convene a community of practice that brought together BC health system quality leaders, Elders and patient partners and Indigenous health partners from various organizations who are preparing to adopt the BC Cultural Safety and Humility Standard developed by the Health Standards Organization. The community of practice was an opportunity for organizations across the province to meet and learn from one another in the spirit of transformation, system improvement, decolonization and alignment to the new standard.

The Government of Northwest Territories Health and Social Services team aimed to develop and refine a tool to guide staff in the Indigenous Wellness Program to ensure that cultural beliefs and practices are respected and embedded in the care experience. They developed and released a report, Honouring the Voices of Indigenous Peoples: Actions for Change in the Northwest Territories Health Care System, that summarizes their findings and highlights the need to prioritize cultural safety and provides several recommended actions for change across the Northwest Territories health system.

The Inuulitsivik Health Centre aimed to improve the cultural safety of birthing services provided to Inuit women by western trained physicians. They planned to facilitate friendship circles, focusing on developing relationships between Inuit staff and community members and non-Indigenous providers who work in the community. To initiate relationships the team hosted a large engagement event in Puvirnituq that gathered Elders and midwives from across the territory.

The Labrador-Grenfell Health team aimed to foster improved relationships between Nunatsiavut Government staff and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. In partnership with the Nunatsiavut Government, they developed and delivered cultural safety training for Labrador-Grenfell Zone senior leadership and coordinated a visit for those leaders to two Inuit communities in Labrador.

The Northern Region Health Authority team aimed to increase the confidence of emergency room managers to identify and respond to incidents of racism, equipping them with the necessary tools and strategies. They developed and delivered cultural safety and anti-racism training in partnership with Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc. (KIM), an organization established to work towards a new health system to better respond to the needs of northern First Nations in Manitoba. They are now creating a community of practice to continue to support the managers to develop and maintain their skills.

Qikiqtani General Hospital aimed to improve the care Inuit receive by improving the cultural competency of healthcare providers and their understanding of Inuit customs, lived experiences and cultural differences. The team is developed and delivered training to support staff to provide more culturally safe care, including an in-person training session and an online module that is to be completed by all physicians working at the hospital. There is interest within the organization to include other healthcare providers with this training.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority aimed to develop relationships with the First Nations communities who receive services at Spiritwood and Shellbrook health facilities to improve communication. The team identified continued relationship building as an ongoing quality improvement priority.

They continue to focus on relationship building with each community and host regular meetings between facility staff and the communities to respond to changing priorities within the communities.

The Ottawa Hospital developed and trialed a country foods menu for Inuit patients of the Indigenous Cancer Program. Guided by Indigenous partners and the principle that food is medicine and can provide comfort to all patients, particularly those who must travel for care, they prioritized providing access to Inuit food options. They aim to learn from this focused quality improvement initiative and consider expanding this program to other areas of care.

The Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre aimed to establish relationships with First Nations and Métis communities to work towards providing a culturally safe space and ensuring that healthcare services are appropriate, easy to access and committed to equity for Indigenous patients. They developed a relationship with a local friendship centre, supported an initial engagement event in May 2024, and engaged local First Nations and Métis community members, staff and clients. They continue to build relationships with the communities to guide their work in addressing racism and improving cultural safety. The team identified continued relationship building as an ongoing quality improvement priority.

The Women’s Health Clinic aimed to apply an Indigenous lens to improve and increase access to their General Counselling and Provincial Eating Disorder Prevention and Recovery programs. They created a Kokum’s Circle made up of Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Grandmothers to act as an advisory mechanism with diverse perspectives. The Kokum’s Circle regularly connects with staff and patients to learn about their needs and ideas for creating a more culturally safe organization. They provided ethical space training to staff and are now implementing changes to their General Counselling and Provincial Eating Disorder Prevention and Recovery programs.

The Yukon Hospital Corporation engaged local First Nations communities receiving services at Dawson City and Watson Lake community hospitals to improve the patient feedback process.