There are many cultural considerations you need to be aware when working in an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait primary health care environment. Look at these images below to learn about some of the cultural issues that need to be respected when delivering services and programs to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. | ||
In an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health care setting it is important to be aware that you may be working with clients from many different backgrounds and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander groups.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary health care workers should be committed to the practice of ‘cultural safety’. This means making sure that the client’s and community’s cultural attitudes, beliefs and values are respected. There may be community protocols (ways of doing things) you need to follow.
Health care services may need to provide specialised services that respect local community cultural considerations. These might include services that address:
- kinship relationships (one of the aspects of the dreaming)
- men’s business and women’s business (initiations and gender ceremonial practices)
- obligations (poison relatives, caring for one another).
Services and programs may need to take into account:
- preferred languages
- how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people wish to communicate.
'Cultural safety' also means that health care services and health care workers need to respect the role that traditional healing plays in the lives of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Traditional healing involves spirituality and wellbeing and traditional medicines.
Nowadays, successful community health care services recognise the importance of traditional healing, and incorporate it into their health and wellbeing treatment and service options.