Health Professionals Working With First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Consensus Guideline

Objective: Our aim is to provide health care professionals in Canada with the knowledge and tools to provide culturally safe care to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women and through them, to their families, in order to improve the health of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.

Evidence: Published literature was retrieved through searches of PubMed, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, and The Cochrane Library in 2011 using appropriate controlled vocabulary (e.g., cultural competency, health services, indigenous, transcultural nursing) and key words (e.g, indigenous health services, transcultural health care, cultural safety). Targeted searches on subtopics (e.g, ceremonial rites and sexual coming of age) were also performed. The PubMed search was restricted to the years 2005 and later because of the large number of records retrieved on this topic. Searches were updated on a regular basis and incorporated in the guideline to May 2012. Grey (unpublished) literature was identified through searching the websites of selected related agencies (e.g, Campbell Collaboration, Social Care Online, Institute for Healthcare Improvement) VALUES: The quality of evidence in this document was rated using the criteria described in the Report of the Canadian Task force on Preventive Health Care (Table).

Sponsors: This consensus guideline was supported by the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada.