Cultural Safety: Understanding and Implementing Culturally Safe Care for Aboriginal People

Running head: CULTURAL SAFETY
CULTURAL SAFETY
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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CULTURAL SAFETY
Introduction
Cultural safety is about the creation of an ambience, where the Torres trait Islanders are
not only treated in a culturally respectful manner but are also empowered, supported for the
preservation of their cultural uniqueness and values. The topic of my choice for this reflecting
writing is the Torres Trait Islander and the aboriginal people. I have understood that cultural
safety is above the Cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. Cultural sensitivity is important
for the nurses and the midwives as it provides the people with the power to commit care to
people, leading them to the reinforcement of the positive experiences and also helps the nurses to
involve in any kind of changes in health care. The culture has helped to expand and alter the
health disparities faced by the aboriginal people. In order to understand the essence of cultural
safety we need to focus on certain factors. One of the crucial factors is the colonization history of
the aboriginals. This reflective essay will focus on my perception on cultural safety and my
understanding on how to implement a culturally safe care to the aboriginal people.
Discussion
The course module helps us to understand about the land history of the aboriginals. The
learning of the aboriginal history bestows us with the knowledge of aboriginal traditions, the
simplicity of their material technologies, their concept of kingship and their interaction with the
land. The study has helped us to understand how their generations are still perturbed by their
history of land colonization, racism.
The health status of the indigenous population is not equal to that of the non indigenous
Australian population (Anderson & Kowal, 2012). The relative socioeconomic disadvantages

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CULTURAL SAFETY
faced by the aboriginals have kept them at risk of exposure to environmental and behavioral
risks. Some of the important determinants of health in the aboriginal are the lack of primary
health care, low standards of the health infrastructure in terms of food, housing, sanitation
(Anderson & Kowal, 2012). Their struggle for their land, deprivation of the basic rights,
separation of the aboriginal children from their parents- all have exacerbated the poor health
status of the aboriginals (Anderson & Kowal, 2012). I have understood how culturally safe
nursing have brought about exceptional outcomes in building up the rapport between health care
professionals and the aboriginal patients. Practice of culturally safe care has been very effective
while dealing with aboriginal pregnant women. I have understood how collaborative care of
westernized nurses and aboriginal traditional healers can really bring about better outcomes.
Feelings
 In order to explain my feelings, a question often comes to my mind. What is actually
cultural safety? Do we really understand or have just gained the bookish knowledge?
Most of the health care professionals do not understand the actual concept of cultural
safety; this is probably because the cultural safety lacks a proper framework (Truong et
al., 2014). Once I have come across an aboriginal patient who was in labor pain. While
looking after her, I thought we all are just the same. Her culture might be different but
she is not. Such a feeling has helped me to develop the sense of cultural awareness.
Reflecting on why cultural safety is important for the aboriginal people, I would like to
focus on the facts published by AIDA. It has been found that the prevalence of binge
drinking, substance abuse, smoking, violence, psychotic disorders is quite high in this
group of people. This due to the fact that aboriginal people has long been suffering from
the disproportionate burden illnesses and social advantage.