Grant: Cat. Gr.: Indigenous Approaches to Wellness Research- Wellness in Cancer control

The proposed research will engage Indigenous Peoples, health practitioners, consumers, and educators in Interprofessional Education (IPE) to design, develop, and evaluate an Indigenous Interprofessional Cultural Safety Training Model (IICSTM). The IICSTM will have measures that address emergent skill sets in culturally safe healthcare. Training will occur over the course of one year, through a variety of strategies, including engaging with local Elders and knowledges pertaining to Indigenous concepts of health and wellness. Skill acquisition will be measured using culturally based simulated participant IPE simulations. These simulations will be evaluated using Indigenous research methodologies (conversational method & story-telling), giving space and authority to Indigenous voice. The cancer care journey, from prevention to palliation, offers an ideal IPE simulation. The IICSTM will respond to the need for training across multiple health professions and will address the alarming increase in rates of cancer. Controlled learning simulations offer practitioners opportunities to collaboratively address common barriers identified by Indigenous populations when accessing cancer care, including but not limited to: lack of equal access to cancer screening and prevention programs; limited knowledge of Indigenous cultural healing and wellness practices among practitioners; and, communication challenges in hospital settings. Targeting both process and content, the IICSTM can be applied to other areas in healthcare. Community-specific knowledge translation activities will be incorporated to appropriately disseminate this knowledge.