Cultural Safety in Healthcare

This document discusses the concept of cultural safety in healthcare, emphasizing the importance of providing equal treatment to all patients regardless of their social and cultural backgrounds. It explores the role of communication, health literacy, and media in promoting cultural safety. The document also highlights the efforts made by Ochre Health, a healthcare organization, to improve healthcare services in rural and remote areas. It addresses the barriers faced in achieving cultural safety and suggests ways to overcome them.

Running head: CULTURAL SAFETY
Cultural Safety
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Ochre Health..............................................................................................................................4
Stakeholder in the Organization.............................................................................................5
Services provided by the organization...................................................................................5
Importance of Cultural Safety in Healthcare.........................................................................6
Importance of communication in cultural safety...................................................................6
Health Literacy and Effective Communication......................................................................7
Role of Media in Healthcare Environment............................................................................8
Improving Healthcare Services..............................................................................................8
Barriers in Healthcare............................................................................................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Cultural safety is a concept that was first introduced by the first world countries with
respect to the midwifery and nursing profession. It is emphasized that cultural safety is an
important concept in the sphere of healthcare. The aspect of cultural safety is analyzed by the
care that the patients receive in the healthcare centers. It is related with the practice that is
performed by the healthcare professionals. The concept of cultural safety is related with the
treatment that is provided in the healthcare center irrespective of the social and cultural
standards. As the healthcare industry is exposed to a number of variables, it is emphasized
that it requires the professionals to be trained in such a way that they handle all the
individuals equally irrespective of any bias. It promotes the concept of healthcare amongst
the midwifes and nurses through the process of self-reflection and awareness about the
cultural diversity that exists in the community (Dunphy, 2013). It is reflected in the care that
is provided to the patients in the healthcare centers by the nurses and the midwives. In the
prospect of clinical safety, the issues relate to racism are often experienced by the patients as
the behaviour of the nurses vary from people belonging to the white races and the ones who
have roots from the black and aboriginal communities. The purpose of cultural safety in
healthcare is to create an environment that is free from discrimination based on race. The
nurses and midwives are the caregivers who are involved in the process of treating and
healing a patient. The responsibility to provide an environment that is safe for the patients lies
with the nurses and the midwives.

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Ochre Health
Hamish Meldrum and Ross Lamplugh who are associated with the healthcare as
professional doctors established Ochre Health in the year 2002. They provided general
healthcare facilities to the patients in the town of Bourke, New South Wales. The present
headquarters of the organization is located in Sydney, Australia. The objective is to provide
medical assistance to the communities that are located in rural and in the remote areas. The
doctors decided that they should recruit a number of other practitioners who will offer their
services in the absence of the professional doctors. This decision was taken after the services
offered by the organization became popular and the number of patients increased. It focused
on the management of the resources that were essential to provide medical facilities in the
rural areas. This organization was established as a non-profitable entity that helped in the
prevention and control of diseases that are increasing at an immense rate.
Stakeholder in the Organization
The stakeholders who are in the process of receiving the healthcare are the
policymakers who design the guidelines for providing care to the masses of the country. The
information is collected the body by a group of administrators who define the areas that are
necessary for providing treatment to the patients. After them the group that is directly
associated with the process are the patients who are referred as the recipients. They are the
ones who receive the benefits that are formulated by the policymakers. The providers are the
ones who work for coordinating the process of treatment and are responsible for the finances
of the organization. The Payors are the ones who ensure the financial sustenance of the
organization.

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Services provided by the organization
The organization offers a range of services that are related to the management of
healthcare services and governing the bodies and recruitment of the practitioners. The
organization already boasts a staff comprising of 400-trained professionals. It works for the
welfare of the communities who are experiencing healthcare issues (Dunphy, 2014). The
challenges that are faced by the practitioners in the process of providing healthcare services
as it deals with the individuals who belong to the culturally backward groups. It has expanded
the areas of the services as the communities that face the issues are the ones who did not
receive healthcare facilities due to their poor location. The rate of hospitalization has been
reduced by the services offered by the Ochre Health. It has increased the access and reduced
the barriers in the sphere of providing healthcare to the individuals who were culturally
diverse. Best in the industry practices are adopted for the betterment of the healthcare
services. The principles are developed by keeping in consideration the community the
practitioners are exposed in the areas of providing treatment. The diseases that are cured in
the prospects of the organization are mainly concerned with chronic diseases. The
management of the organizational activities is necessary as the impacts of the healthcare
industry are evident on the social structure. The healthcare rate is improved by the services
that are offered by the organization.
Importance of Cultural Safety in Healthcare
Empowerment of the people who are involved in process of treating the patients is
important and this increases the need of cultural safety in the sphere of healthcare. The lack
of cultural safety leads to poor health among the people of the region. Thus, it shows that it is
important to adopt the activities that lead to cultural safety to ensure safe and efficient
practices in healthcare. The cultural beliefs should be kept in mind while providing treatment
to the people as they can belong to cultural diverse background. When the practitioner

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disagrees to with the beliefs possessed by the recipient of healthcare, it can lead to conflicting
situations that can lead to the disruption of care. The understanding that is developed by the
practitioners through the availability of cultural training is leads to the smooth functioning of
the process.
Importance of communication in cultural safety
Communication is an important aspect in the process of providing care to the patients
as it acts as a bridge between the practitioner and the patients. It helps to understand the
issues that the individual is exposed. The nurses are the ones who are directly involved in
providing care to the patients thus it becomes essential for them to be aware about the cultural
values to promote safe and healthy environment to the patients. The communication skills
should be highly developed as they provide credibility and establishes reliability to the
patients in the process of healthcare (Chun Tie, Birks & Mills, 2018). It creates mutual
understanding between the two, helps them to understand each other’s perspectives, and acts
effectively. The clarity of information leads to the efficiency of the process and eliminates
any barrier that is to be experienced in the process of providing treatment. Interpersonal skills
of communication are the most desired qualities that should be considered while recruiting
the individuals in the profession of healthcare. The communication is necessitated as it is
verbal and does not require any proficiency in education that may be lacking in the patients
who are from the remote corners of the country. As the process of communication involves
the use of words, signs and gestures, therefore all these factors make it the most effective
component in the process of providing treatment (McBain‐Rigg & Veitch, 2011).
Health Literacy and Effective Communication
The poor quality of health is emphasized on the poor communication of the
individuals with the healthcare professionals. The information that is provided to the

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individuals who are involved in the process of receiving treatment and the way they utilize
help from it comes under the health literacy. It has been interpreted that the individuals who
possess good healthcare literacy are less likely to face issues in the process of treatment than
those who are not liberated by this concept. These individuals fail to understand the
instructions that are issued to them in the process of treatment (Runciman et al., 2012). They
tend to refrain from availing treatment due to lack of health literacy. They face the issues
related to physical and psychological wellness. The efforts that are needed to be developed
the relationship between the patients and the practitioners. There are constant efforts that are
made by the policymakers to formulate the communication techniques to achieve better
results in the healthcare process. There are certain methods that can be prescribed to
effectively initiate the effective communication process still there are areas that need to have
more focus from the policy makers. Healthcare centers are experiencing the need to develop
more policies that will produce effective communication policies and would lead to the
improvement of health literacy results. The policies and procedures are to be centered on the
patients and the responsibility lies on the individuals who work in the center. The patients
who are not proficient in the language that is spoken widely experience issues in the sphere of
healthcare.
Role of Media in Healthcare Environment
Mass media holds an important position in the sphere of healthcare and promoting in
cultural safety. The latest inventions and developments in the sphere of healthcare are
promoted with media that creates a perception about the healthcare services that are provided
by the organization. There are two types of effects that are experienced by the use of mass
media in healthcare services (Lupton, 2014). At times some treatments and medicines that are
promoted through the social media lack the information that is necessary to be known as they
can have some adverse effects on the health of the individuals. The projection of some

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medical stories that are controversial in nature through mass media leads to a negative
influence on the masses and restricts them from availing treatment (Von Muhlen & Ohno-
Machado, 2012). The reports that are published about the effects of healthcare facilities lead
to have a negative impact. It can be analysed that media plays a very important role in the
promoting cultural safety in the healthcare environment (Wakefield, Loken & Hornik, 2010).
Improving Healthcare Services
The use of cultural knowledge works effectively in improving the healthcare services
and improving the quality of the treatment of the facilities. As when the nurses are provided
with proper training to deal with the patients who are from different cultures it provides them
with better understanding and achieve better results in the process of treatment. The
stakeholders in the process of availing treat from Ochre Health are from rural and remote
areas thus it requires the professionals dealing with them should be aware about the needs,
culture, values and ethics that will help them to deal with them efficiently. The patient care
should be the prime purpose of the healthcare prospects. The results can be assessed by the
development that has been seen in the number of patients who are opting for availing medical
services that was not the case earlier. The inefficiencies are removed by providing proper
training to the professionals including nurses, midwives and practitioners in the healthcare
process. As the process of healthcare is constantly evolving therefore it requires that the
professionals should be exposed to new training sessions that should be developed by
keeping the area of developments in mind.
Barriers in Healthcare
There are many barriers that are experienced in the promotion of cultural safety in
healthcare that include economic, educational, social and political (Baxter et al., 2012). As
the individuals are from rural areas it contributes that, they are likely to be from the weaker

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sections of the society who have limited or no knowledge about the healthcare services that
are provided by the organization. There are communities who experience high mortality rates
due to their lack of knowledge about the healthcare facilities. The government is taking the
necessary initiatives in order to bridge the gap between the patients and the medical
practitioners. There have been several campaigns and government policies formulated still
the gap remains unbridged (Welch, 2012). The challenges that arise in the sphere of
healthcare need immediate action from the policy makers in order to make the changes
evident in the process of healthcare. The lack of solutions to these issues has led to create
adverse situations and has complicated the process of treatment.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the cultural safety can be provided by the development
of policies in the healthcare practices and there should be proper communication strategies in
the organization help in the efficiency of treatment. The proper training to the nurses and
midwives are helpful in providing treatment to the culturally challenged classes who are
opting for availing the treatment. The individuals are becoming aware by the techniques of
promotion of healthcare facilities that is helping the organization to avail treatment. It is the
responsibility of the healthcare professionals to remove the differences in healthcare. The
barriers that arise in the area of healthcare can be removed by the active participation of the
nurses, midwives and practitioners. This shows that they are the most important component
in removing the barriers in healthcare and increasing the access for the patients.

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