Grant: Project Grant

The Developing Elders' Support through Trauma Informed Emergency Departments (DESTINED) project is a partnership between five First Nations communities and a university research centre, and will be conducted in alignment with the Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP) guidelines. The DESTINED project was inspired by a First Nations community, who had concerns regarding Elders' access to culturally safe emergency department services within their local hospital. Collaboration was struck between the University and the First Nations communities, though engagement with an Elders Circle, using appropriate protocols. The Elders Circle is composed of seven Elders representing five First Nations communities. The project will be co-developed and co-created with Indigenous partners in order to facilitate the inclusion of community members in the social construction of knowledge. The DESTINED project will employ a team of Indigenous-privileged access interviewers and project manager. Elders and other Indigenous peoples will be the key participants. Data collection methods will include talking circles and photo voice to gather knowledge from Indigenous peoples who have used a hospital emergency department, or chosen not to do so. Safeguards will be developed with Indigenous participants, and put in place prior to the commencement of data collection, including psychological support in follow up to sharing potentially traumatic material. The research process will be used to develop a variety of recommendations emergent from the data in order to improve cultural safety within hospital emergency departments. The findings of the study will be disseminated to the five First Nations communities, and more broadly through conference presentations and publications. At all stages of the process, Indigenous peoples will both participate in and lead the direction of the research.