While the health status of Aboriginal people has improved over the past few decades, inequities still exist. The health outcomes of Aboriginal people remain disproportionately lower compared to those of non-Aboriginal Canadians (Interior Health, 2018). I strongly believe that Interior Health (IH) is committed to working to improve the health of Aboriginal people in the Interior Health Region.
Interior Health has acknowledged that concrete actions are required to meet the needs of Aboriginal peoples to improve wellbeing and has taken several positive steps towards the goal of eliminating inequities. For example, in 2012, Interior Health signed a Partnership Accord with Interior First Nations, a document that committed both parties to work together to improve health and wellness outcomes for Aboriginal people, by way of developing strategies together to reduce the barriers Aboriginal people face when accessing health services. Additionally, the IH Aboriginal Health and Wellness Strategy (2015-2019), was developed in collaboration with Interior Regional First Nations, the First Nations Health Authority, urban Aboriginal Service partners, and the Metis Nation BC, to deliver culturally sensitive health-care services to meet the needs of Aboriginal populations in alignment with the Ministry of Health’s key priorities for the B.C. health-care system.
Since signing of the Partnership Accord in 2012, several meaningful strides have been implemented to improved collaboration with our Nation partners. For example, nurse practitioners have been hired across Interior Health to work specifically with Aboriginal populations, Aboriginal patient navigators have been hired to work in both acute and community settings to support Aboriginal patients, caregivers, and their families while in the health-care systems. In addition, to support mental health services, IH in collaboration with the First Nations Health Authority and Ministry of Health, through the Joint Project Board, have hired 22 mental health, social work, and other allied health staff to work within Aboriginal communities across the Interior region. In 2015, CEOs of IH and FNHA, along with all other health authority CEOs and the BC Ministry of Health, signed onto the Declaration of Commitment: Cultural Safety & Humility in Health Services Delivery for First Nations and Aboriginal People in BC.
IH has also done extensive work across IH to incorporate Aboriginal culture into their health facilities. This includes: art, sacred spaces, welcome signs, and cultural ceremonies (Interior Health, 2018b). In 2013, Interior Health also developed an Aboriginal Human Resources Plan to support recruiting and retaining of Aboriginal employees within IH. All Interior Health staff have the opportunity, and are strongly encouraged, to enrol in all three components of the PHSA Indigenous Cultural Safety training. This training provides an overview of European colonization, Indian residential schools, Indian hospitals and the health system generally over the past 100 years. In addition, in 2015, IH hired a Cultural Safety Educator who created in-person training for Interior Health employees, specific to the Interior Health region, that focuses on Aboriginal culture and traditions with emphasis on the crucial role both play in healing, wellness, and health promotion for First Nations and Metis people (Interior Health, 2018b).
References:
First Nations Health Council. (2012). Interior Region Nation Executive & Interior Health Authority: Partnership Accord. Retrieved from, http://www.fnhc.ca/pdf/Interior_Partnership_Accord_FINAL_COPY.pdf
Interior Health. (2015). Aboriginal Health & Wellness Strategy: 2015-2019. Retrieved from, https://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourHealth/AboriginalHealth/Documents/AboriginalHealthStrategy.pdf
Interior Health. (2018a). Aboriginal Health. Retrieved from, https://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourHealth/AboriginalHealth/Pages/default.aspx
Interior Health. (2018b). Our Commitment to Aboriginal Health: Background & Success. Retrieved from, https://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourHealth/AboriginalHealth/Documents/Aboriginal%20Health%20Commitment%20-%20Background%20and%20Successes.pdf
Provincial Health Services Authority in BC (2018). San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training. Retrieved from, http://www.sanyas.ca/