Appraising Indigenous cultural safety within healthcare: Protocol of a scoping review of reviews

Abstract

Aim: The objective of this scoping review of reviews will be to synthesize the existing literature to identify key elements, conceptualizations and interventions of cultural safety to improve healthcare for Indigenous Peoples.

Design: Eligible studies will include reviews (e.g. scoping reviews, systematic reviews and narrative reviews) focused on Indigenous cultural safety in healthcare.

Methods: Guided by Weber-Pillwax's Indigenous principles of relationality and Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework, a review of reviews will be conducted by searching peer-reviewed literature published between January 2010 and December 2020. The database search will include CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. This scoping review protocol was registered with the Joanna Briggs Institute on January 28, 2021.

Discussion: There is a paucity of knowledge on existing interventions and implementation strategies to support Indigenous cultural safety within the healthcare system. Improving Indigenous cultural safety in healthcare requires a comprehensive understanding of its core components and the specific interventions.

Impact: This review will help guide future research and enhance cultural safety interventions for Indigenous Peoples, including Indigenous Peoples with diverse genders and sexualities. The findings from this review will provide critical insight and knowledge to inform cultural safety policies, programs and practices to support healthcare for Indigenous populations.

Keywords: cultural safety; healthcare; indigenous; scoping review.