A Positional Statement: Integrating Cultural Safety Training for Health Care Practitioners Across Canada

Abstract

This position paper outlines key arguments for implementing cultural safety training for unregulated healthcare professionals across Canada who are not registered with an organization or college. It highlights the necessary role of healthcare policymakers, organizations, and professionals working with Indigenous populations in advocating for mandatory cultural safety training. There is a gap in education and training regulations through the holistic health practitioner’s community, who are transferring from other provinces and are not aware of cultural safety training when working within Indigenous populations. Health care members in organizations need more awareness through training and advocacy to promote equity for Indigenous people living in British Columbia. Cultural safety training is not widely known or accessible among all healthcare sectors. Healthcare workers who are not part of a healthcare organization and who are unregulated professionals, not registered or recognized within an organization, cannot access cultural safety training without having to pay. The findings identify the gaps, barriers, and benefits of advocacy for advancing cultural safety training. Implementing cultural safety training should be mandatory for all healthcare professionals, including those who are unregulated, to address health inequities and systemic racism and improve Indigenous healthcare. A call to action for ongoing community contribution of advocacy for funding and research is necessary to understand how cultural safety training is impacting and influencing positive changes for Indigenous people accessing healthcare.

Keywords: cultural safety training, Indigenous, health care professionals, Truth and Reconciliation, British Columbia, inequities, anti-racism