Volume 29, Issue 2 pp. 201-210
ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Assessing cultural safety in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health

Liz Withall BND(Hons)

Liz Withall BND(Hons)

College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Contribution: Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Methodology, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Courtney Ryder BScBEng(Biomed)(Hons)

Courtney Ryder BScBEng(Biomed)(Hons)

College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Contribution: Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing - review & editing

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Tamara Mackean FAFPHM

Tamara Mackean FAFPHM

College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Contribution: Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing - review & editing

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Wendy Edmondson MBA

Wendy Edmondson MBA

College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Contribution: Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing - review & editing

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David Sjoberg BA Aboriginal Studies

David Sjoberg BA Aboriginal Studies

College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Contribution: Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing - review & editing

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Dennis McDermott MA

Dennis McDermott MA

College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Contribution: Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing - review & editing

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Annabelle Wilson PhD

Corresponding Author

Annabelle Wilson PhD

College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Correspondence

Annabelle Wilson, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.

Email: [email protected]

Contribution: Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing - review & editing

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First published: 01 April 2021
Citations: 11

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore how nurses and midwives (trained at Flinders University in Adelaide) from rural, remote and urban locations view the impact of cultural safety training on their practice and the extent to which they incorporated cultural safety principles into their practice.

Design

qualitative research study.

Setting

rural, remote and urban locations across Australia.

Participants

Nurses and midwives who had undertaken cultural safety training at Flinders University as part of their undergraduate degree.

Methods

Participants were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded independently by members of the research team.

Main outcome measures

The use of cultural safety principles in participants' practice, and the extent to which they were applied, was determined. Barriers and enablers to enacting cultural safety in the workplace were also identified.

Results

10 individuals participated in an interview (7 nurses and 3 midwives). The Modified Monash Model was used to classify participant location with the following observed: MM1, six; MM2, two; MM5, one; MM6, one. 3 participants were from the Northern Territory and 7 from South Australia. Participants were at varying stages in their journey of cultural safety, ranging from early stages to those able to embody the Cultural Safety Principles and negotiate barriers to provide culturally safe care. Educational strategies for participants to progress their cultural safety journey were also identified.

Conclusion

The extent to which cultural safety principles are applied in practice is diverse amongst the nurses and midwives that participated in this study, demonstrating that cultural safety is a journey and ongoing support is needed.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

This work was funded by a Flinders University Faculty of Health Sciences Seeding Grant in 2014.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.