Cultural Safety In Nursing Care For Aboriginal People

Discussion

Cultural safety is the concept which involves the individual who gives care to another person on the basis of their own molds in terms of working in the honest relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) community. Culturally safe practice in nursing is not the novel approach. It is expected from the nurses and midwives that they engaged with all the persons in the culturally safe and humble manner, accept the exposed and considerate professional relations, and complied with the duties related to privacy and confidentiality. There are number of health services which give the cultural safety training for their staff (NATSIHWA, 2013).

The main aim of this assignment is to discuss the principles related to cultural safety and cultural considerations which are necessary for care of an aboriginal person and link all these factors with culturally safe nursing care. Furthermore, this assignment will focus on providing nursing guidelines which are necessary for cultural safety while providing care for aboriginal islanders and it will also outline the significance of ethical decision making in culturally safe nursing care. This assignment is concluded with the brief conclusion which summarizes all the important facts of this paper.

This section of paper describes number of different concepts in terms of cultural safety in nursing care.

Cultural safety is the consequence of teaching that permits the secured services for those who receive these amenities. An un-secured cultural drill is an act which or degrades the cultural uniqueness of the individual. The main objective of ensuring the cultural safety of aboriginal people is to enhance delivery of health facilities by providing robust association between individuals who are receiving facilities and healthcare professionals. Following principles are supported by the cultural safety outlines which are known as cultural safety principles, and all these safety principles are described below:

• Aboriginal self-determination.
• Social and restorative justice.
• Equity
• Negotiated Partnership
• Transparency
• Reciprocity
• Accountability
• Sustainability
• Political Bipartisanship
• Cultural contextually

Above stated principles are considered as necessary frameworks in terms of ensuring real and maintainable transformational alteration in the health system of Australia. Cultural safety practices are rooted in the procedures and strategies in terms of increasing the results for indigenous people in Australia (NTCOSS, no date).

Following are the cultural considerate required at the time of giving care to the aboriginal individual:

• Care provider must hold the knowledge about the culture of individual who receives the care, because culture of the person play important role in the way they think and talk about their health.
• Communication is the most important cultural consideration which is required to be understood by the health provider. In other words, health provider must understand the way of communication which is culturally acceptable in the aboriginal communities.
• Health provider must understand the health beliefs related to wellness and cause of injury, treatment, etc.
• Cultural considerations related to gender specific protocols and practices.
• Health provider must not disrespect the aboriginal islanders, their community, and their culture by their actions and words (Care Search, no date).

Nurses and midwives bear the responsibility to give care that ensures best results for the individual to whom such care is given. The new code of conduct which is established for guiding the practices of nurses and midwives include the principle of cultural safety and it is also provide simple and common guidance to medical professionals regarding how they should work with indigenous people. Following are the strategies through which cultural consideration can be linked with the nursing care:

• Nurses and midwives must practices in such manner that respects the culture of family and community in terms of supporting the health of aboriginal peoples.
• There is need to achieve the balance between the academic/clinical expertises and the cultural dimensions of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders.
• There must be worldwide request and operation of cultural safety standards while giving the health care services (NMBA, no date).
• Nurses and midwives must be aware about both types of communication styles (verbal/non-verbal) in context of giving health care services to the aboriginals Islanders.
• Nurses must recognize and respect the cultural obligations, cultural validation, and cultural priorities.
• Nurses and midwives must respect and understand the cultural protocols in terms of gender specific services.

Additionally, healthcare organizations and health specialists need to work in effective way and also in teamwork with the ATSI peoples. Nurses and midwives must understand the communities and their people, and they should also understand that they did not have a particular culture, homogeneous worldview, knowledge or reality. Factors worked in one community might not work in another community, and this is the reason because of which nurses must get aware about the culture before giving the health care services (Queensland Health, no date).

The codes also state the particular guidelines for nurses and midwives in cultural context, and these guidelines are defined below:

• Nurses and midwives must deliver the care that is all-inclusive, free of racism; their beliefs must be based on assumptions, and culturally safe and respectful in context of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Nurses and midwives must ensure and facilitate the excellence and socially harmless health services for ATSI peoples.
• Nurses and midwives must recognize the position of domestic collaborations, community and partnership while taking any decisions regarding healthcare facilities of ATSI peoples (NMBA, no date).

Culturally safe and respectful practices are those practices which impose obligations on nurses to have knowledge about the culture, values, beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes which directly affect their interactions with the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and their families. In terms of ensuring secure and deferential practice, nurses must:

• Comprehend that only the individual or the family of individual hold the right to decide whether or not maintenance is socially secure and reverential.
• Nurses must respect the diverse cultures, beliefs, gender, identities, sexualities and experiences of people, and this further includes their team members.
• Acknowledge the all those factors which influence the health of individual, community or population.
• Nurses needs to practice the respect of diversity and avoids discrimination and racism which is based on assumption.
• Must support the inclusive environment relating to safety and security of individual who are receiving the healthcare facilities and their family as well.
• Must create the positive and safe working environment through the role modeling and also support the rights and dignity of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and their families (Chenowethm, Jeon, Goff & Burke, 2006).

Ethics play important role in the culturally decision making process, and because of this nursing process accepts the important relationship between the health and human rights. It also acknowledges the powerful contribution made by ethics in the health outcomes. This profession recognize that accepting the principles and standards related to ethics and values in health care give effective outcomes because it respect and safeguard the rights of all the peoples including the aboriginal and Torres islanders. These standards and ethics of human rights recognized health as the fundamental human right, and stated that violation or lack of ethics can result in serious health consequences.

While recognize the links and operational relationships that mainly exist between the health and human rights, the nursing profession respect these ethics of ATSI peoples and their families as the traditional owner of this land. These communities live the different and variable culture that mainly shapes their relationships with others and further influence their daily decision making.

Conclusion:

An un-secured cultural drill is an act which or degrades the cultural uniqueness of the individual. The main aim of ensuring and maintaining the key elements of cultural safety is to enhance delivery of healthcare facilities. These can be recognized through maintaining a robust association between individuals receiving those facilities and healthcare professionals. Healthcare organizations and health specialists need to work in effective way and also in teamwork with the ATSI peoples. It is necessary that nurses and midwives must understand the communities and their people, and understand that they did not have a single culture, reality or experience. Factors worked in one community might not work in another community, and this is the reason because of which nurses must get aware about the culture before giving the health care services.

References:

Care Search. Cultural Considerations. Retrieved on 7^th December from: https://www.caresearch.com.au/caresearch/tabid/2446/Default.aspx.

Chenowethm L., Jeon Y.-H., Goff M. & Burke C. (2006). Cultural competency and nursing care: an Australian perspective. International Nursing Review 53, 34–40.

NATSIHWA, (2013). Cultural safety framework national aboriginal and torres strait islander health workers association. Retrieved on https://www.natsihwa.org.au/sites/default/files/natsihwa-cultural_safety-framework_summary.pdf.

NMBA. Guidelines.  Retrieved on 7^th December from: https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Codes-Guidelines.aspx.

NMBA. NMBA and CATSINaM joint statement on culturally safe care.  Retrieved on 7^th December from: https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/position-statements/joint-statement-on-culturally-safe-care.aspx.

NTCOSS. Culturally Safe Practice. Retrieved on 7^th December from: https://ntcoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Culturally-Safe-Practice-2.pdf.

Queensland Health. Patient Care Guidelines.  Retrieved on 7^th December from: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/157333/patient_care_guidelines.pdf.