Champions of Cultural Safety: An Exploration of How Cultural Safety Can Be Implemented as a Routine Aspect of Health Care

Time: 12-1pm

This exploratory ethnographic qualitative study explores the perspectives and behaviours of Champions of Cultural Safety (CCS) to better support the cultural responsiveness of a hospital in Vancouver. This study identified CCS, healthcare providers who practice and role model culturally safe care and examined their experiences of the current hospital culture including why and how they enact cultural safety in their work. Recruitment began with Aboriginal Patient Navigators who identified CCS. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with Aboriginal Patient Navigators, an Elder, and health care providers. This study is timely given the current commitment to cultural safety and cultural humility in health services within the BC Tripartite Framework Agreement. Conducted with the guidance of an Aboriginal Health Team, the study has potential to contribute to planned organizational change that could support the implementation of cultural safety approaches.

BIO: Paula Foster is a Clinical Associate at UBC and completed her MSN thesis at UBC. Paula teaches in a variety of clinical and lab courses across the undergraduate program in the adult/older adult population. Paula has a broad variety of clinical nursing experience including critical care and acute areas and leadership experiences such as project work in discharges in acute medicine and Patient Care Coordinator. Prior to joining UBC in 2007,  Paula had many years experience nursing in New Zealand where she developed her passion for culturally safe practice. A highlight was her experience working at Rotorua Hospital which has a 35% Māori population, where she experienced the benefits of appropriate cultural support and care to Māori clients.

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