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accessHealthNews.net
February 2024
Volume 10 | Issue No. 80
Suicide is the second leading cause of
death among Indigenous youth ages 8
to 24, and Native American and Alaska
Native youth aged 10-24 have the highest
rate of suicide of all demographic groups.
The Association of Clinicians for the
Underserved presented a panel webinar,
"Preventing Suicide in Indigenous Youth:
Strategies & Considerations for Primary
Care Teams & Beyond," to explore the
vital opportunity primary care providers
and outreach staff at federally-funded
community health centers and other
clinics have to intervene with patients at
risk of suicide. To do so effectively, health
care professionals must utilize the concept
of cultural safety to understand the unique
needs of their Indigenous patients to help
identify those at risk.
What is Cultural Safety?
Cultural safety, a concept initiated in New
Zealand in the late 1980s to deliver more
appropriate health care to the Maori
people, means creating and maintaining
an environment where one feels
physically, socially, and emotionally safe
without denying one's identity or culture.
It is the experience of learning together
through shared respect and knowledg.
A 2019 study, "Why cultural safety rather
than cultural competency is required to
achieve health equity: a literature review
and recommended definition," concluded
that what determines 'safe' care must
be defined by the recipient of the care;
additionally, health practitioners must be
prepared and willing to challenge their
own cultural systems rather than simply
prioritizing becoming 'competent' in the
cultures of others.
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"Our job in primary care is to make sure
that people get the right level of care"
