Professional Practice: Cultural Safety in NZ Healthcare

This report examines cultural safety within the context of New Zealand healthcare, focusing on the principles, origins, and practical applications of culturally safe practices. It explores the historical background rooted in the Treaty of Waitangi and its implications for the Maori community, emphasizing the importance of respecting cultural beliefs and ensuring equitable healthcare access. The report analyzes ethical codes of conduct for healthcare professionals, highlighting the need for sensitivity in verbal and non-verbal communication, and the importance of patient autonomy. It stresses the significance of considering various cultural aspects, including ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic factors, to foster a supportive and adaptive healthcare environment. The report provides insights into the roles and responsibilities of healthcare providers in promoting cultural safety, advocating for informed consent and patient-centered care. It aims to guide healthcare professionals in enhancing their practice to meet the needs of diverse patient populations.

Professional practice in new zealand
health care
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Table of Contents
Part-1..........................................................................................................................................2
Perception of cultural safety in healthcare practice...............................................................2
Part 2..........................................................................................................................................3
Cultural safety in respect to healthcare personnel..................................................................3
Cultural safety with respect to the patient..............................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5
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Part-1
Perception of cultural safety in healthcare practice
Cultural safety is one of the effective nursing practices prevalent in New Zealand. The origin
of the cultural safety practice is from the Waitangi treaty made in 1840 (Zambas et al., 2016).
The main principles of cultural safety are protection, participation, and partnership. This
concept is implemented mostly in the culturally vulnerable ethnic group of the Maori
community. The cultural safety was mainly introduced in New Zealand in 1990 (Shah &
Reeves, 2015). This mechanism is mainly implemented to maintain a cultural balance
between the health professionals and the indigenous Maori community. I think this is one of
the most essential steps taken to maintain cultural safety balance in the health care industry.
Cultural aspects play one of the pivotal roles in the health care industry. According to the
researcher, if a patient, during the treatment, feels culturally safe then it has a positive impact
on the holistic recovery of the patient. In my opinion, it is important for the health
professionals to give proper respect to the cultural beliefs of the patients (Beavis et al., 2015).
The treaty of Waitangi is based on three principles those are Partnership, protection, and
participation (Brown et al., 2016). It is mainly done for the Maori population of the country. I
think that it is very important that the health professionals should be given proper respect to
the cultural beliefs of the Maori population. In my opinion, the implementation of the
principles based on the cultural beliefs of the Maori population is justified. Every individual
should have the right to practice his or her own culture.
The Maori community is the aboriginal population of New Zealand and they have different
societal and cultural beliefs than the Non-Maori population. At first, there were some
problems regarding the cultural aspect of the Maori population (Dell et al., 2016). The treaty
of Waitangi is implemented to give prominent freedom to the cultural belief of the Maori
population. The Maori community is structurally in a disadvantaged position from the Non-
Maori community. The treaty helps invalidation of the cultural beliefs of the Maori
community in the health care settings. I think it is important to give priority to the cultural
beliefs of the Maori community. According to the treaty of Waitangi, it says there should be
informed consent about the health care implementation programme. Adequate information
should be given to the Community people which imply that priority to their beliefs is been
given in the health care sector.
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Part 2
Cultural safety in respect to healthcare personnel
Cultural safety of the patient is one of the major concern s of the health professional. In my
opinion, it plays a vital role in the mental and physical health aspects of our life. According to
the medical association of New Zealand, there is an ethical code of conduct of the nursing
professionals (Goodman et al., 2017). In my opinion, the healthcare professionals should
comply with the Code of Conduct. The main principles of ethical behaviour are mentioned
below:
Priority should be given to the health and well being of the patient. Respect to the cultural
belief and freedom of health care choice should be provided to the patient (Ward & Trust,
2015). This is one of the essential principle included in the ethical code of conduct of New
Zealand. Appropriate honor must be given to the cultural views of the patient. In my opinion,
since the Maori community is a culturally marginalized community special focus should be
given on the cultural safety of the Maori community. Verbal and non-Verbal communications
are very important parameter those should be performed in an appropriate manner by the
health care professionals (Davy et al., 2017). In my opinion, the health care professional that
will help in implementing the ethical code of conduct in an effective manner may study the
Cultural background of the Maori community.
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Cultural safety with respect to the patient
Maintenance of cultural safety is very important with respect to the recipient of the health
service. According to the cultural safety practice, it is the right of the patient to comment and
advice on any kind of practice for positive outcomes of the health. In my opinion, this is one
of the most significant points. It helps in increasing the adaptive capacity of the patient to the
nursing care settings. The cultural aspects that should be considered from the patient’s
perspective based on their ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, occupation, and
socioeconomic and religious beliefs. If any problem occurs during the implementation of
nursing care, the patient may give advice and rectify the health care professional for the
holistic development of patient’s health.
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References
Zambas, S. I., & Wright, J. (2016). Impact of colonialism on Māori and Aboriginal healthcare
access: a discussion paper. Contemporary nurse, 52(4), 398-409.
Ward, J., & Trust, S. (2015). Aboriginal healthcare: Healthcare and remote aboriginal
communities: It's all about the approach. Medicus, 55(3), 17.
Davy, C., Kite, E., Sivak, L., Brown, A., Ahmat, T., Brahim, G., ... & Mitchell, F. (2017).
Towards the development of a wellbeing model for aboriginal and Torres Strait islander
peoples living with chronic disease. BMC health services research, 17(1), 659.
Goodman, A., Fleming, K., Markwick, N., Morrison, T., Lagimodiere, L., Kerr, T., &
Society, W. A. H. R. (2017). “They treated me like crap and I know it was because I was
Native”: the healthcare experiences of Aboriginal peoples living in Vancouver's inner
city. Social Science & Medicine, 178, 87-94.
Beavis, A. S., Hojjati, A., Kassam, A., Choudhury, D., Fraser, M., Masching, R., & Nixon, S.
A. (2015). What all students in healthcare training programs should learn to increase health
equity: perspectives on postcolonialism and the health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. BMC
medical education, 15(1), 155.
Brown, A. E., Middleton, P. F., Fereday, J. A., & Pincombe, J. I. (2016). Cultural safety and
midwifery care for Aboriginal women–A phenomenological study. Women and Birth, 29(2),
196-202.
Dell, E. M., Firestone, M., Smylie, J., & Vaillancourt, S. (2016). Cultural safety and
providing care to Aboriginal patients in the emergency department. Canadian Journal of
Emergency Medicine, 18(4), 301-305.
Shah, C. P., & Reeves, A. (2015). The Aboriginal Cultural Safety Initiative: An innovative
health sciences curriculum in Ontario colleges and universities. International Journal of
Indigenous Health, 10(2), 117-131.
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