Using Two-Eyed Seeing to Explore Interagency Collaboration.

Area of Science:

• Indigenous Health
• Health Services Research
• Cross-Cultural Healthcare

Background:

• Health-care environments significantly impact service delivery, necessitating holistic and culturally competent approaches.
• Effective interagency collaboration is crucial for bridging traditional Indigenous and mainstream health services.
• The concept of collaboration in healthcare remains poorly understood, with limited guidance on its effective creation and sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore health professionals' perspectives and experiences with collaboration across diverse health services in Saskatchewan.
• To understand the concept of collaboration from the viewpoint of practitioners working within traditional Indigenous and mainstream health partnerships.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study employing observation and interviews to gather insights.
• Utilized a 'two-eyed seeing' approach to elicit perspectives from health professionals.
• Focused on practitioners within a traditional-mainstream health services partnership.

Main Results:

• Successful cross-cultural collaboration requires both individual and system-level factors and accountabilities.
• Key enablers include integrating Indigenous virtues and mainstream values, relationship building, valuing diversity, and supportive environments.
• Involving the right personnel and focusing on impactful outcomes are essential for successful collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Findings underscore the need for contextually relevant collaborative practice models for effective, holistic health services.
• The 'two-eyed seeing' approach effectively integrates strengths from both Indigenous and mainstream perspectives.
• This integrated approach potentiates complementary aspects to better meet client and community needs.