Improving Emergency Care of Indigenous Elders Living with Frailty in Interior Health Authority
Project Overview
This project is a collaboration between Royal Roads University and Interior Health Authority to develop training for Emergency Department staff in the 16 hospitals in Interior Health Authority. Building on the extensive cultural safety curriculum developed by Interior Health Authority’s Cultural Safety Education team, Royal Roads University partnered with the Cultural Safety Education team to develop a virtual training advanced module focused on improving the cultural safety of emergency care provided to frail Elders in Interior Health Authority.
Objective & Purpose
The main objective of the project is to implement the findings and recommendations emerging from the DESTINED project, original research led by the PI and Indigenous and health authority collaborators, and conducted with Elders in Indigenous communities, by developing a more trauma-informed approach to the care of Elders in Interior Health Authority hospital Emergency Departments.
Process
After a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project resumed in 2023, in partnership with the Cultural Safety Education Team that was established in Interior Health, led by Shawna Duncan. The project team engaged with Elders and Indigenous contractors, as well a policy collaborators at the Minstry of Health, and built on new cultural safety curricula developed in Interior Health, in response to the In Plain Sight Report. The focus on the project developed into virtual training for Emergency Departments, specialized in supporting Indigenous Elders in Emergency Departments. This training will be offered to all Interior Health staff, and is specifically intended for Emergency Department staff working in hospitals.
The Principal Investigator worked in consultation and with Interior Health Authority and Indigenous collaborators to develop education for health authority staff (in particular, those working in Emergency Departments), to provide trauma-informed care to Elders living with frailty. This is based on findings from the DESTINED project, and integrates recent input from the “In Plain Sight” report and policy related to frail Elders from the Ministry of Health (via the PI), with cultural safety from an Indigenous contractor. The format of delivery is virtual and it fits within and builds on the curriculum being developed by Interior Health’s Cultural Safety Education Team, led by Shawna Duncan. Consultation has been conducted with the British Columbia Ministry of Health to ensure alignment with provincial policy.
Dr Shannon McDonald, an Indigenous physician and health leader, worked in collaboration with the Principal Investigator to develop a specialized module focused on the trauma-informed care of Elders living with frailty who require emergency care. The training integrates video and text materials from a variety of health policy and Indigenous resources. The lived experience and expertise of our Indigneous collaborators ensures the content includes Indigenous perspectives.
