Grant: Planning Grants

This application is to fund the planning and implementation of a public forum and meeting between service providers in First Nations and non-First Nations health care organizations (HCOs) and health services research experts aimed at improving the coordination of health services for Aboriginal people. The goal of this meeting is to launch a collaborative process for generating, translating and sharing knowledge to inform the development of innovative models for enhancing culturally safe practices and improving coordination of services between hospitals and First Nations community health centres. Ensuring that health care organizations can meet the needs of Aboriginal patients requires the establishment of processes for: 1) identifying Aboriginal patients and their community connections; 2) obtaining consent for sharing information; and 3) coordinating care among health service providers located throughout the health care system. Each of these processes requires well developed ethical protocols that ensure patients and their families are leading the process, and that patient privacy and confidentiality is respected. This meeting brings together health service providers and managers from a variety of HCOs, including First Nations health centres and hospital-based clinics with a shared interest in the identification and reinforcement of best practices for providing coordinated health care in a culturally safe manner.