Cultural Safety and Healthcare: An Analysis of Aboriginal Healthcare

This report examines the critical role of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers (ATSIHWs) in providing culturally safe and appropriate healthcare to Indigenous populations in Australia. The report emphasizes the importance of cultural competence and sensitivity in addressing the unique healthcare needs of Aboriginal communities, highlighting the significance of person-centered approaches that empower patients in their healthcare decision-making. It underscores the need for ACCHS to adopt culturally competent practices, ensuring that Indigenous patients feel respected, empowered, and dignified. The report also references the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork, with Indigenous workers advising other health professionals on cultural competence. References from various scholarly articles support the report's findings, reinforcing the need for culturally sensitive healthcare practices within the context of Aboriginal health.

Running head: CULTURAL SAFETY AND HEALTHCARE
CULTURAL SAFETY AND HEALTHCARE
Name of the Student:
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Introduction
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, possess an ethnic and
cultural background which is diverse and unique as compared to non-Indigenous cultures and
hence, have healthcare needs which are highly divergent than those of mainstream society.
Nurses employed for the care of such ethnically diverse patients must deliver skills of cultural
competence and cultural sensitivity to address their unique cultural healthcare needs (Sibthorpe,
Gardner & McAullay, 2016). The role of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service
(ACCHS) is to deliver holistic, culturally competent healthcare to Indigenous communities
(McDermott et al., 2015). The following paper demonstrates the importance of an ACCHS for
the healthcare deliverance of Matt, a 24 year old Aboriginal patient.
Question 4
By administering the need to adopt person centered approaches, ACCHS and ATSIHWs
allow Australian Aboriginals to directly participate, take control and in the process, feel
empowered to engaged in their healthcare decision-making process (Clifford et al., 2015).
Adopting principles of cultural safety necessitate ACCHS to adopt cultural competent practices
which not only allow Indigenous patients to express their diverse needs but also make them feel
respected, empowered and dignified (Kendall & Barnett, 2015).
Conclusion
To conclude, the ACCHS and ATSIHWs contribute an essential role in ensuring that the
unique, culturally sensitive needs and ethnically diverse need of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

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Islander communities in Australia in terms of healthcare. The ACCHS seeks to address the
culturally unique requirements of Indigenous populations by engaging in the deliverance of
holistic and comprehensive healthcare services. By adhering to the principles of cultural safety
and self-determination, the ACCHS and ATSIHWs also ensure that Indigenous patients feel
empowered to take control over their own healthcare decisions. While working in an
interdisciplinary team, Indigenous workers must consider advising every health professional on
cultural competence.

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References
Clifford, A., McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R., & Tsey, K. (2015). Interventions to improve cultural
competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and
the USA: a systematic review. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 27(2),
89-98.
Kendall, E., & Barnett, L. (2015). Principles for the development of Aboriginal health
interventions: culturally appropriate methods through systemic empathy. Ethnicity &
health, 20(5), 437-452.
McDermott, R. A., Schmidt, B., Preece, C., Owens, V., Taylor, S., Li, M., & Esterman, A.
(2015). Community health workers improve diabetes care in remote Australian
Indigenous communities: results of a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC
health services research, 15(1), 68.
Sibthorpe, B., Gardner, K., & McAullay, D. (2016). Furthering the quality agenda in Aboriginal
community controlled health services: understanding the relationship between
accreditation, continuous quality improvement and national key performance indicator
reporting. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 22(4), 270-275.