Canadian Aboriginal Culture: Cultural Competence in Health Practices

This report provides an overview of cultural competence in the context of Canadian Aboriginal culture, focusing on family patterns, communication styles, and health beliefs. It explores traditional Aboriginal healing practices, the significance of elders, and the balance between spirit, body, and mind. The report delves into nutritional patterns, pain responses, childbirth and perinatal care, views on death and dying, and the role of spirituality, religion, faith, prayer, and meditation. It highlights the diversity within Indigenous Canadian communities, emphasizing the importance of respecting their unique traditions and histories. The report concludes with insights gained and proposed changes in practice to ensure culturally sensitive and respectful care for Aboriginal patients, including active listening, involving elders, and conducting culturally appropriate assessments. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide array of study resources for students.

Cultural
competence
in practice
Name of the Student
Name of the University

Cultural knowledge
– Cultural knowledge forms an essential component of cultural competence
(Shen, 2015)
– Individuals typically focus on information specific to their culture, while
interacting in a community
– Culture specific knowledge cannot be necessarily transferred across varied
cultures
– Cultural knowledge facilitates gaining a sound understanding of differences that
exist in varied backgrounds, race, and ethnicities

Objective
– To determine the family patterns, communication style and
health beliefs of Canadian Aboriginal culture
– To assess the nutritional patterns, pain responses, and
perspectives on death, dying, prayer and meditation among
Canadian Aboriginals
– To explore childbirth and perinatal care, and views on religion,
faith and spirituality among Canadian Aboriginals
Figure 1
Source- (Morelli, 2017)

Health Beliefs and practices
– They have placed a faith on the concept of traditional Aboriginal healing since
thousands of years
– They provide elders a special respect due to the fact that most elders are
traditional healers
– Healing is considered a journey (Waldram, 2014)
– Due emphasis is placed on emotional and spiritual healing, in addition to
physical recovery

Health Beliefs and practices
– Health is generally considered as a harmony and balance between the spirit,
body and the mind
– Disease or illnesses are considered to occur by ignoring natural and sacred laws
– Medicinal wheel represents interweaving of health, life, and personal values of
the individuals and their community (Bell, 2014)

Family patterns
– Based on inuit approaches of raising children
– The children enjoy considerable amount of freedom and are
thought to be born from the spirit or soul of a recently
deceased community member or relative
– Places emphasis on laws of kinship
– Believes on presence of a relation between all things in the
spiritual word, animal world, human world, and plant world
(Gerlach, Browne & Suto, 2018)
Figure 2
Source- (Bissell Centre, 2016)

Family patterns
– Elders are considered the head of the family
– Often look for family groups
– Live with extended family members
– Consider all women, and not just the biological mother, as a guardian
– Presence of fluidity in bonds between children and parents
– Acceptance of orphans in other households

Communication style
– 30 dissimilar languages are spoken by the people
– Maximum people speak Inuktitut, Anishinaabe and Cree, Northwest Territories,
Nunatsiavut, Nunavut, and Mi'kmaq language (Haque & Patrick, 2015)
– Several native languages have been lost. English is spoken as the first language
by many surviving elders.
– Some people also speak French

Communication style
– Do not like usage of the word ‘pre-history’ or ‘discovery’ of America
– Resent usage of words such as, ‘our indigenous people’ or ‘stakeholders’.
– Establishing direct eye contact is considered disrespectful since eyes act as the
window to a person’s soul
– Maintaining a low volume and soft voice tone is also considered as a sign of
respect

Space orientation and Time orientation
– Identity is a multi-layered notion that permits persons living in a
varied society for identifying themselves
– Their identity comprises a massive diversity of individuals, groups
and welfares located ins changing economic, socio-political, and
demographic situations
– They do not comprise of a focussed monolithic unit, communicating
with one voice (Hawkins & Gillett, 2015)
Figure 3
Source- (Lake, 2017)

Space orientation and Time
orientation
– Human beings are thought to be devoted to each other (and societies of origin)
effectively by common ties of blood
– Reciprocal feelings of acceptance and trust are created that attach persons to
one another
– People take birth into a social group and their social interaction with the nature
and surroundings, forms an essential part of identity

Nutritional Patterns
– Good nutrition is considered imperative for optimal health and wellbeing
– Aboriginal children are given 2-4 servings of vegetables and milk, 1-2 servings of
meat alternatives, 3-6 servings of grains, and 4-6 servings of vegetables and
fruits
– 96% of First Nations kids consume milk or milk products once a day (at least)
(Langlois, Findlay & Kohen, 2013)