Cultural Humility
Cultural Humility is the willingness to suspend what we think we know about another cultures. It is the intention to prioritize empathy, compassion and understanding by challenging ingrained biases.
We can do better
Racism and discrimination towards First Nations peoples continues to be a major problem across many contemporary healthcare settings. These systemic biases manifest in a lack of appropriate treatment and equitable healthcare access, resulting in poorer health outcomes for First Nations peoples.
Self-Reflection and Critique
Humility begins with self-reflection. When we are honest with ourselves about how personal biases inform our interactions with other cultures, we can begin reflecting on how we can better understand and support others in our personal and professional lives.
Dealing With Causes, Not Symptoms
The intergenerational effects of colonization still exist today in our healthcare system. Understanding the part healthcare policy and institutions play in upholding systemic racism is a foundational step in achieving culturally safe healthcare. Our collective history is a part of our collective present.
Humility:
A Starting Point for Change.
Health literacy is a person's ability to access, understand, use, and evaluate health information and services to make decisions about their health and well-being.
A word from the FNHA CEO
Health Literacy + Cultural Humility = Cultural Safety
We embark on a path towards reaching an overall outcome of Cultural Safety by improving individual health literacy and creating systemic Cultural Humility. Everyone has the right to access a healthcare system that is free from racism and discrimination. Everyone has the right to feel safe voicing their perspectives and concerns.
When people seek healthcare, they are at their most vulnerable: weak, tired, scared, and in need of assistance. When people seek healthcare is when they are most in need of compassion. Change starts at the individual level: if you are ready to make a difference, take the pledge to start your journey of Cultural Humility and help spread the word to make our healthcare system a more culturally humble and culturally safe place.