Cargando…

Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario

Access to cultural activities and culturally relevant healthcare has always been significant for achieving holistic Indigenous health and continues to be a key factor in shaping the health journey of Indigenous individuals and communities. Previous research has indicated the importance of cultural p...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lin, Jonathan C., Toombs, Elaine, Sanders, Chris, Sinoway, Candida, Amirault, Marni, Mushquash, Christopher J., Barkman, Linda, Deschamps, Melissa, Young, Meghan, Gauvin, Holly, Benoit, Anita C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9977040/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36857373
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282484
_version_ 1784899208462991360
author Lin, Jonathan C.
Toombs, Elaine
Sanders, Chris
Sinoway, Candida
Amirault, Marni
Mushquash, Christopher J.
Barkman, Linda
Deschamps, Melissa
Young, Meghan
Gauvin, Holly
Benoit, Anita C.
author_facet Lin, Jonathan C.
Toombs, Elaine
Sanders, Chris
Sinoway, Candida
Amirault, Marni
Mushquash, Christopher J.
Barkman, Linda
Deschamps, Melissa
Young, Meghan
Gauvin, Holly
Benoit, Anita C.
author_sort Lin, Jonathan C.
collection PubMed
description Access to cultural activities and culturally relevant healthcare has always been significant for achieving holistic Indigenous health and continues to be a key factor in shaping the health journey of Indigenous individuals and communities. Previous research has indicated the importance of cultural practices and services in sustaining cultural identity for Indigenous peoples, which is a major influence on their wellbeing. This study marks the first phase in a project aimed at establishing an Indigenous healing program and uses a qualitative research approach to understand the health and cultural services that Indigenous women want and require in Thunder Bay, Ontario. During interviews, participants (n = 22) answered questions around their understandings of health and wellbeing, and how they are able to incorporate cultural practices into their circle of care. Thematic analysis was performed on interview transcripts, and 4 key themes were identified: ‘independence and self-care’, ‘external barriers to accessing services’, ‘finding comfort in the familiar’ and ‘sense of community’. Together these themes illustrate how Indigenous women feel a strong sense of personal responsibility for maintaining their health despite the multiple environmental factors that may act as barriers or supports. Furthermore, the necessity of embedding cultural practices into Indigenous women’s circle of care is highlighted by the participants as they describe the mental, spiritual, social, and emotional health benefits of engaging in cultural activities within their community. The findings demonstrate the need for current modes of care to look beyond the individual and consider the impacts that socio-environmental factors have on Indigenous women. To accomplish this, we hope to increase access to health and cultural services through the creation of an Indigenous healing program that can be adequately incorporated into Indigenous women’s circle of care if they wish to do so.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9977040
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-99770402023-03-02 Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario Lin, Jonathan C. Toombs, Elaine Sanders, Chris Sinoway, Candida Amirault, Marni Mushquash, Christopher J. Barkman, Linda Deschamps, Melissa Young, Meghan Gauvin, Holly Benoit, Anita C. PLoS One Research Article Access to cultural activities and culturally relevant healthcare has always been significant for achieving holistic Indigenous health and continues to be a key factor in shaping the health journey of Indigenous individuals and communities. Previous research has indicated the importance of cultural practices and services in sustaining cultural identity for Indigenous peoples, which is a major influence on their wellbeing. This study marks the first phase in a project aimed at establishing an Indigenous healing program and uses a qualitative research approach to understand the health and cultural services that Indigenous women want and require in Thunder Bay, Ontario. During interviews, participants (n = 22) answered questions around their understandings of health and wellbeing, and how they are able to incorporate cultural practices into their circle of care. Thematic analysis was performed on interview transcripts, and 4 key themes were identified: ‘independence and self-care’, ‘external barriers to accessing services’, ‘finding comfort in the familiar’ and ‘sense of community’. Together these themes illustrate how Indigenous women feel a strong sense of personal responsibility for maintaining their health despite the multiple environmental factors that may act as barriers or supports. Furthermore, the necessity of embedding cultural practices into Indigenous women’s circle of care is highlighted by the participants as they describe the mental, spiritual, social, and emotional health benefits of engaging in cultural activities within their community. The findings demonstrate the need for current modes of care to look beyond the individual and consider the impacts that socio-environmental factors have on Indigenous women. To accomplish this, we hope to increase access to health and cultural services through the creation of an Indigenous healing program that can be adequately incorporated into Indigenous women’s circle of care if they wish to do so. Public Library of Science 2023-03-01 /pmc/articles/PMC9977040/ /pubmed/36857373 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282484 Text en © 2023 Lin et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Lin, Jonathan C.
Toombs, Elaine
Sanders, Chris
Sinoway, Candida
Amirault, Marni
Mushquash, Christopher J.
Barkman, Linda
Deschamps, Melissa
Young, Meghan
Gauvin, Holly
Benoit, Anita C.
Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario
title Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario
title_full Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario
title_fullStr Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario
title_full_unstemmed Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario
title_short Looking beyond the individual–The importance of accessing health and cultural services for Indigenous women in Thunder Bay, Ontario
title_sort looking beyond the individual–the importance of accessing health and cultural services for indigenous women in thunder bay, ontario
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9977040/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36857373
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282484
work_keys_str_mv AT linjonathanc lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT toombselaine lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT sanderschris lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT sinowaycandida lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT amiraultmarni lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT mushquashchristopherj lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT barkmanlinda lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT deschampsmelissa lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT youngmeghan lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT gauvinholly lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario
AT benoitanitac lookingbeyondtheindividualtheimportanceofaccessinghealthandculturalservicesforindigenouswomeninthunderbayontario