Culture, Cultural Continuity & Cultural Safety Study Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering topics on culture, cultural continuity, self-determination, the Quality of Life Framework, and the four steps toward cultural safety.

Culture Wheel

A framework that breaks culture into nine key elements: values, greater community, knowledge and stories, language, traditions and rituals, techniques and skills, tools and objects, the arts, and food and drink.

Culture

A word used to describe worldviews, lifestyles, learned and shared beliefs and values, knowledge, symbols, and rules that guide behaviour and create meanings within a group of people.

Values

A cultural standard for what is good and just in society.

Beliefs

The convictions that people hold to be true.

Cultural Identity

The way in which you identify yourself, which can be divided into two categories: personal identity and social identity.

Cultural Continuity

Intergenerational cultural connectedness preserved through families, communities, and Knowledge Keepers who pass traditions on to subsequent generations.

2019 Indigenous Child and Family Services Act

Also known as the Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families, this law passed by the Canadian Parliament provides Indigenous Peoples with effective control over their children's welfare and helps ensure culturally appropriate care is given to Indigenous children across Canada.

Current Barriers to Cultural Continuity in Healthcare

Barriers faced by Urban Indigenous Canadians, including difficult communication with healthcare professionals, dismissal or discharge by healthcare staff, long wait times, mistrust and avoidance of healthcare, racial discrimination, and socioeconomic barriers such as poverty and transportation.

Indigenous Self-Determination

A commitment in Canada to advancing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples' ability to govern themselves and regain control over their lands and resources, characterized by recognizing Indigenous jurisdiction and directly engaging Indigenous Peoples when making decisions that affect them.

Quality of Life Framework

A framework in Canada comprising 84 indicators across five domains: prosperity, health, environment, society, and good governance.

Cross-Cutting Lenses

Two lenses within Canada's Quality of Life Framework that apply across all domains: the fairness and inclusion lens, and the sustainability and resilience lens.

Cultural Responsiveness

The ability to learn from and relate respectfully to other cultural backgrounds, heritages, and traditions, involving awareness of one's own cultural identity and the capacity to understand different cultural norms.

Four Steps Toward Cultural Safety

A four-step process required to achieve cultural safety: cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, cultural competence, and cultural safety.

Cultural Awareness

Being able and willing to recognize cultural differences and learn about cultures from different perspectives.

Cultural Sensitivity

A stage of cultural responsiveness where 'difference is honoured and celebrated,' which involves considering cultural backgrounds and experiences of Indigenous Peoples, acknowledging differences, and creating a space where everyone is valued and welcomed.

Smudging

A traditional practice for many Indigenous cultures that involves burning sacred plants, such as sweetgrass or sage.

Cultural Competence

The ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from cultures or belief systems different from one's own, which requires adapting to people of different cultures and practicing cultural humility.

Cultural Safety

The highest stage of cultural responsiveness that goes beyond awareness, sensitivity, and competence by understanding power differences within health service delivery, addressing inequities, and creating an environment free from prejudice, racism, and discrimination.

Goal of Cultural Safety

For the patient to feel safe and supported in the healthcare environment, free from prejudice, racism, and discrimination, and free to draw strength from their culture, identity, knowledge, and community.

Origins of Cultural Safety

A concept that emerged in New Zealand in the 1980s in response to concerns about the quality of care provided to M■ori people.