Folks might be interested in my take on two new reports launched in Aotearoa, New Zealand. One on structural discrimination and the other on Asian Health Needs Assessment in Auckland.
"Many years ago I remember talking to an older Chinese woman in Wellington about a presentation I was going to give about cultural safety. When I gave her a slightly academic and jargon laden explanation, she said to me: “Ruth, it’s really simple, you just have to smile at people”. I’ve never forgotten her words and I agree with her. A smile communicates several things, it says “I am going to look after you and care for you, you will be safe with me”. I’ve been teaching students to remember to smile ever since. I’ve also been interested in what makes a good experience for patients/service users/tangata whai ora and three words come to mind. These are competence (we need to know that nurses have the skills and resources to provide care),communication (we need to feel informed about what is happening to us, so that we can make informed decisions) and caring (we need to feel cared for and important).
A new discussion paper launched by The Human Rights Commission last month examines how structural discrimination or institutional racism perpetuates inequalities and outlines government initiatives with potential to achieve systemic change. Four areas receive attention: health, justice, education, the economic system and the public service. In the section on health, the discussion paper cites the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey which found that the experience of feeling “treated with respect and dignity” by their primary health care provider varied by ethnicity, Asian, Pacific and Māori adults “were significantly less likely than adults in the total population … to report that their health care professional treated them with respect and dignity ‘all of the time’."
Read more at http://www.ruthdesouza.com/2012/09/10/a-smile-and-more-improving-asian-health-in-auckland/
Ruth
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