Societal and Cultural Influences in Healthcare

Societal and Cultural Influences

• Societal and cultural influences significantly impact healthcare and the workplace.
• Current and historical social and cultural issues affect healthcare environments.
• Various workplace issues, based on social and cultural factors, impact the working environment.
• Professional and regulatory bodies play a role in supporting social and cultural issues within healthcare professions.
• Attitudes toward healthcare, especially Indigenous Peoples, are crucial to understand.
• Strategies for addressing these issues, and creating positive change, need to be identified and implemented.

Multiculturalism

• All citizens maintain their cultural identities, take pride in their ancestry, and have a sense of belonging (Government of Canada, 2019a).
• Public policy aims to manage cultural diversity in multi-ethnic societies by emphasizing tolerance and respect for cultural diversity (Srivastava, 2007, p. 323).

Laws Protecting Canadian Rights

• Official Languages Act (1969)
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Act (1988)
• Canadian Human Rights Act (1985)
• Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988)

Complexity of Culture

• Key aspects of cultural complexity include race, ethnicity, cultural sensitivity, diversity, marginalization, and racialization.

Culture

• Culture is a dynamic relational process of selectively responding to and integrating historical, social, political, economic, physical, and linguistic structures and processes.
• This response is contextually and relationally determined, expressed through values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices (Doane & Varcoe, 2015, p. 139).

Multiple Contexts of Culture

• Culture is influenced by numerous contexts, including historical, sociopolitical, material/economic, physical, and linguistic/discursive factors (Doane & Varcoe, 2015).

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

• The TRC was established in 2008 to document and address the impacts of residential schools.
• In 2015, the TRC released 94 calls to action, with 18 to 24 specifically focusing on health.
• Key calls to action for health include recognizing and providing health care rights for Indigenous Peoples, improving health care outcomes, recognizing distinct health needs, and promoting cultural competency in healthcare.

Relational Practice

• Relational practice is guided by conscious participation with individuals, making use of relational skills like listening, questioning, empathy, mutuality, reciprocity, self-observation, reflection, and sensitivity to emotional contexts (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2018, p. 11).
• This approach includes intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual influences.

Reflexivity

• Reflexivity is the ability to understand and question personal contexts, attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions, and experiences, understanding how these shape perspectives of the individual and others (Landy et al., 2016; Verdonk, 2015).

Critical Self-Reflection

• Critical self-reflection involves integrating values, beliefs, attitudes, and emotions during experiences to understand and analyze perspectives (Aronson, 2011) and challenge assumptions (Ng et al., 2015).
• Ongoing throughout one's career as a nurse is crucial (Song & Stewart, 2012).

Cultural Safety

• Cultural safety includes cultural competence, cultural humility, and critical reflexivity.

Best practice guidelines (RNAO BPG)

• Embracing Cultural Diversity in Health Care: Developing Cultural Competence.
• Published in April 2007.

Cultural Competence Model

• A conceptual framework for Healthy Work Environments for Nurses.
• This framework discusses external characteristics, organizational characteristics, group characteristics, and individual characteristics, influencing outcomes.
• “Linking themes” connect these variables to outcomes related to diversity and culture.

Key Messages and Themes

• Practitioner skill set, workforce diversity, systems and supports, decision support systems and practice improvement, education and training, collaboration are key messages and themes in effective culturally competent practices.

Recommendations: Individual

• Focuses on self-awareness, communication skills, and new learning to foster cultural competency within individuals.
• Anticipated outcomes include an open-minded, inclusive, and respectful workforce. Individual members need to promote equity and diversity, actively address barriers, and utilize their potential to overcome obstacles.

Recommendations: Organizational Context

• Recommendations address workplace policies, recruitment, retention, and education programs for supporting internationally educated nurses.
• These practices are designed to create a positive environment that values diversity.

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal": Racism and Nursing

• Highlights racism in healthcare settings, including interactions with patients, management, and instances of passive racism.
• Educators face challenges in training, and specific strategies like creating caring environments, showing curiosity about other cultures, and promoting assertive communication address offensive comments and behaviours.

Bill 168

• This bill aims to prevent and address workplace violence including harassment.

Summary

• Culture is diverse and complex, with no two people sharing the same cultural experience.
• Individuals associate with multiple groups, influenced by diverse values and experiences that frequently change over time.
• Relational practice provides a framework for understanding and addressing individual differences.
• Cultural safety encompasses practicing both cultural competence and humility.

Explore how societal and cultural influences shape healthcare and workplace dynamics. This quiz covers the impact of historical and current social issues, the role of professional bodies, and strategies for positive change, with a focus on Indigenous Peoples. Delve into the importance of multiculturalism and laws that protect citizens' rights in Canada.