How are CIHI and Indigenous leaders working to improve cultural safety in health care?

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(Text appears on the screen announcing that this is an Ask an Expert video and provides the name of the speaker and their job title: Joseph Emmanuel Amuah, Manager, Indigenous Health.)

(A question appears on the screen: “How is CIHI working with Indigenous leaders and experts to advance the measurement and reporting of cultural safety in health care systems in Canada?”)

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Imagine walking into an emergency department and being asked to wait, and then after 34 hours of waiting you are found dead. This is the story of Brian Sinclair who, in 2008, walked into the emergency department of the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and after waiting for 34 hours without being treated was found dead.

Staff at the emergency department made a lot of assumptions about Brian, including that he was intoxicated and that he was homeless.

This is the impact of anti-Indigenous racism.

Anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s health systems is widespread and results in traumatic health care experiences, poor outcomes and even preventable deaths for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

To create culturally safe health systems, there is the need for measurement and reporting to ensure high-quality health care.

At CIHI, we are working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders to first build trust and respectful relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations and communities.

Second, we are working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders to co-develop standardized tools to assess the extent to which health care organizations are providing culturally safe care.

And finally, we are working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis thought leaders to co-select and co-develop cultural safety indicators to be reported at the national level in a transparent manner to hold health systems accountable.

This is one way to ensure that Canada's health systems are providing high-quality health care to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples that is devoid of racism.

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