Grant: Team Grant: Strengthening the Health Workforce : Indigenous Health Workforce

Within healthcare settings, Indigenous peoples are frequently regarded as patients with health and medical complexity. Patient complexity not only consists of multiple medical issues experienced by an individual but also encompasses social, cultural, environmental, and contextual characteristics that impact care delivery and patient experiences. Primary care is best suited to identify issues that affect the social determinants of health of their patient population, which also play a role in the progression and management of disease or illness. However, the capacity of family physicians to deliver appropriate care for patients with complexity is impeded by structural issues that have changed the nature of physicians' work and their workload. We are proposing the implementation and sustainment of a novel "Indigenous Support Hub" within Alberta Primary Care Networks (PCNs) that would be a shared resource model that PCN clinic physicians, nurses and other clinical providers could access when needing support with social, cultural, and system dynamics that influence Indigenous patients' health. The Indigenous support worker would engage in case conferencing with the clinician to provide guidance and advice on the patient case, and foster collaborative learning. This will be a multi-phased, multi-method implementation science study. We utilize implementation theories and frameworks to support the implementation and uptake of the Indigenous Support Hub in PCNs.