newy.com.au – University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute researcher Dr Elissa Elvidge has been awarded an $838,000 grant to lead a national project aimed at reducing racism and discrimination in primary healthcare.
The National Health and Medical Research Council partnership project will test the Cultural Safety Scale, a tool that measures how well health services meet the cultural needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
Developed by Dr Elvidge and her team and previously piloted in hospitals, the tool will be tested in settings including GP clinics, telehealth services and specialist outreach clinics. It draws on Indigenous patients’ experiences to identify where services are working well and where care needs to change.
Dr Elvidge said culturally unsafe care could lead people to delay treatment or avoid health services, contributing to poorer health outcomes. She said there had previously been no robust, consistent national measure of cultural safety from Indigenous patients’ perspectives in primary healthcare.
Moving beyond hospitals was important because patients also relied on general practice, allied health, mental health, pharmacy and community health services, she said. Barriers to culturally safe primary care could affect access to hospitals and ongoing treatment for chronic and complex conditions.
Torres Strait Islander woman and University of Newcastle senior lecturer Dr Karen Nicholls said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership would be central to the project.
“This project is not being done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, it is being done with us and led by us,” Dr Nicholls said.
Communities and Indigenous organisations will help shape the research from its design through to delivery, interpretation of findings and policy recommendations. Community advisory groups and steering committees will bring local priorities and patient experiences into that work.
The University of Newcastle’s Wollotuka Institute and Thurru Indigenous Health Unit are among the organisations that will help guide the project’s governance, management of Indigenous data and implementation. Other partners include the National Indigenous Health Leadership Alliance and Tranby Aboriginal College.
The broader partnership brings together health services, accreditation agencies, GP organisations, Primary Health Networks and policymakers. The findings are intended to inform national cultural safety standards and health policy, as well as changes within individual services.
Dr Elvidge said patient feedback could give services practical direction on improving care.
“Feedback might lead to more Aboriginal health workers, better communication with patients and families, stronger cultural support, changes to service policies, or targeted staff training.”
