Use of traditional therapies in palliative care for Australian First Nations peoples: An integrative review

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To conduct an integrative review of the literature to understand how the incorporation of traditional therapies affect First Nations people's utilisation of palliative care services.

Background: First Nations peoples face many barriers related to accessing and utilising specialised health services such as palliative care. Whilst culturally appropriate care has been shown to improve these outcomes, there is little evidence regarding how this may be achieved.

Design: Integrative review.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted using electronic databases CINAHL, Joanna Briggs, Medline, Scopus, ScienceDirect InformitHealth and ProQuest between the years of 2005 $-$ 2021 databases were searched for papers with full text available and published in English. Papers were included if they were primary-based research and focused on the topics of the use of traditional therapies in a palliative care context by First Nations persons. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme principles were used to assess the methodological quality of the selected articles.

Results: Seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The review included six qualitative studies and one quantitative study. From these studies, five themes were identified in the literature: supporting a holistic approach, developing culturally appropriate care, conflict within a Western medical model, regulatory issues, and geographical barriers.

Conclusion: There is a dearth of current literature available discussing the utilization of traditional therapies in palliative care. From the literature analysed, the benefits of including traditional therapies are overall positive, however, there are barriers including conflict with the Western model of medicine and regulation. More research is required in the provision of traditional therapies in palliative care.

Relevance to clinical practice: The incorporation of traditional medicines within a palliative care setting could help nurses provide holistic and culturally appropriate care, especially in rural and remote areas where they make up the majority of the healthcare force.

Keywords: Aboriginal; First Nations; Indigenous; integrative review; palliative care; traditional therapies.