Assessing cultural safety in general practice consultations for Indigenous patients: protocol for a mixed methods...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Indigenous Health
• Cultural Safety Assessment

Background:

• Assessing cultural safety in general practice for Indigenous patients is complex.
• Cultural safety is defined by Indigenous peoples and influenced by social, historical, and political determinants.
• A single assessment method is insufficient for evaluating culturally safe care by general practice registrars.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a tool to assess culturally safe consultations in general practice.
• To ensure cultural safety is determined from the perspective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• To conceptualize the development and assessment of cultural safety using a comprehensive model.

Main Methods:

• Pragmatic philosophical position focusing on Indigenous patients' perspectives.
• Triangulation of data with general practitioners (GPs), registrars, Indigenous communities, and medical educators.
• Integration of quantitative and qualitative data via surveys, interviews, nominal group technique, and Delphi questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Recruitment targets: ~40 patients, 20 GPs for interviews; 7-35 participants for nominal groups; 15 for Delphi process.
• Data analysis using content analysis to identify key components for assessing cultural safety.
• Exploration of cultural safety assessment from multiple stakeholder perspectives.

Conclusions:

• This study pioneers the assessment of cultural safety in general practice as defined by Indigenous peoples.
• The protocol aims to raise awareness and encourage further research in this critical area.
• Findings will inform the development of a validated tool for assessing culturally safe general practice consultations.