Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

This research will take a community-based approach to address the existing gap between recent government policy recommendations and actions intended to increase First Nations cultural competency in Canadian health care services. It is generally accepted that an understanding of how culture affects individual health beliefs and behaviours is needed to ensure the provision of quality health care. As a reflection of this need, the lack of culturally competent health care has emerged as a critical determinant of poor health among Aboriginal People. Currently, it is believed that training and educational opportunities in Aboriginal health for Canadian health care workers are inadequate. Without these learning opportunities, cross-cultural understanding between patients and health care worker is limited and many Aboriginal Peoples report insufficient access to adequate services and suffer ill health as a consequence. The goal of this research is to develop First Nations-based education modules for health care providers of two Ontario cities (Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie) who provide services to urban and nearby reserve Aboriginal populations. To include multiple perspectives on the various issues involved in cultural competency, community-based qualitative and quantitative data collection will involve Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants from both cities and First Nations. This research has the potential to provide other Aboriginal communities and health education programs and institutions with a model for the development of culturally specific health education in a First Nations context. It is hoped that by working towards better health care provision through improved cultural competency, we will begin to make great strides in lessening the disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal health status in Canada.