Title |
“All my relations”: experiences and perceptions of Indigenous patients connecting with Indigenous Elders in an inner city primary care partnership for mental health and well-being
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Published in |
Canadian Medical Association Journal, May 2018
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DOI | 10.1503/cmaj.171390 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
George Hadjipavlou, Colleen Varcoe, David Tu, Jennifer Dehoney, Roberta Price, Annette J Browne |
Abstract |
Mental health services in urban settings generally have not been adapted to serve the needs of Indigenous patients. We explored how patients' encounters with Indigenous Elders affected their overall mental health and well-being to identify therapeutic mechanisms underlying improvement. We conducted qualitative interviews of participants enrolled in a 6-month prospective mixed-methods evaluation of a program for mental health and well-being that featured the inclusion of Elders in the direct care of Indigenous patients in an inner city primary care clinic. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted to explore patients' experiences and perceptions of their participation in the Elders program. We included 37 participants from at least 20 different First Nations. All but 1 participant described substantial benefits from their encounters with Elders, and none reported being negatively affected. Five overarching themes were identified: experiencing healing after prolonged periods of seeking and desperation; strengthening cultural identity and belonging; developing trust and opening up; coping with losses; and engaging in ceremony and spiritual dimensions of care as a resource for hope. Our evaluation illustrates that the Elders program was perceived by participants to have a broad range of positive impacts on their care and well-being. Although this study was based on experiences at a single urban clinic, these findings support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's calls to action regarding the inclusion of Elders as a strategy to improve care of Indigenous patients in Canadian health care systems. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Canada | 18 | 58% |
United States | 1 | 3% |
Unknown | 12 | 39% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 17 | 55% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 8 | 26% |
Scientists | 5 | 16% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 170 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Bachelor | 30 | 18% |
Student > Master | 26 | 15% |
Researcher | 14 | 8% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 6% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 4% |
Other | 23 | 14% |
Unknown | 60 | 35% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Nursing and Health Professions | 29 | 17% |
Psychology | 19 | 11% |
Social Sciences | 18 | 11% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 14 | 8% |
Arts and Humanities | 6 | 4% |
Other | 18 | 11% |
Unknown | 66 | 39% |