Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2007 / November / 21 / Cultural safety on the agenda for public symposium Dec. 7

Cultural safety on the agenda for public symposium Dec. 7

November 21, 2007

University and community researchers, health care professionals, and expert speakers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand will gather in Westbank on Dec. 7 for a major symposium examining the relatively new-to-Canada concept of cultural safety.

The term “cultural safety” was first used in the 1980s in New Zealand in response to the indigenous Maori peoples’ discontent with nursing care. Maori nursing students and Maori national organizations introduced nursing practices that avoid diminishing, demeaning or disempowering the cultural identity or wellbeing of an individual. Through cultural safety training, those delivering health care services become more respectful of nationality, culture, age, sex, political and religious beliefs.

“In the last decade, researchers have come to recognize that cultural safety is an important component in improving health care with and for indigenous people,” says symposium organizer Dr. Rachelle Hole, Assistant Professor with UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Health and Social Development, and member of the Okanagan Aboriginal Health Research Action Group.

“With local and international indigenous presenters expert in cultural safety, this symposium provides an important introduction to the concept and will explore the potential to develop research- and evidence-based cultural safety programs in the Okanagan Valley.”

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Interior Health Authority are funding the symposium, with sponsorship provided by the Okanagan Nation Alliance, Interior Health Authority, and UBC Okanagan.

The symposium will be moderated by Dr. Greg Younging, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies at UBC Okanagan. The day opens with a brief welcoming ceremony at 9 a.m., with invited speakers presenting from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Morning presenters include:

  • Dr. Jennifer Baker, a professor with the University of South Australia’s School of Nursing and Post-graduate Program director at that university’s David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research.
  • Dr. Steve Francis, policy manager at Australia’s Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues. Francis is an Honorary Fellow with the School of Social and Environmental Enquiry at the University of Melbourne and with the Refugee Health Research Centre at La Trobe University.
  • Dianne Wepa, cultural safety teacher and coordinator of several teaching teams on mental health and cultural safety at New Zealand’s Eastern Institute of Technology.

An interactive afternoon agenda will include a keynote address from Dr. Evan Adams, Aboriginal health physician advisor to B.C.’s Ministry of Health.

A panel of B.C. Interior representatives will discuss cultural safety issues at 1:30 p.m. Panelists include:

  • Barbara Mack, Aboriginal Health Liaison Worker, Interior Health Authority – Williams Lake
  • Shawna Buchholz, MPH Candidate, Lakehead University – Kelowna
  • Denise Taylor, Aboriginal Health Lead, Interior Health – Kelowna
  • Duane Tom, Health Director, Upper Nicola Indian Band – Merritt
  • Kelly Kubik , Director, Okanagan Métis Children and Family Services – Kelowna
  • Jessie Nyberg, Program Coordinator, Aboriginal Infant and Early Childhood Development, Vernon First Nations Friendship Centre – Vernon
  • Edna Terbasket, Executive Director, Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society – Kelowna

The panel discussion will be followed at 2:30 p.m. by an open discussion that will include speakers, panelists and symposium attendees.

The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Dec. 7, at the Westbank First Nation’s Sensisyusten Community Center, 920 Quail Lane in Westbank. Admission is free and the public is welcome.

For information contact symposium coordinator Michelle Smith at UBC Okanagan, 250-807-8054, or visit www.ubc.ca/okanagan/hsd/news/cultural-safety.html.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Bud Mortenson
Director
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-9255
E-mail: bud.mortenson@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Uncategorized

Trending Stories

  • Work Study opens new doors for undergraduates
  • Finding new life for plastic waste
  • Strengthening Indigenous community through research
  • Safeguarding water quality
  • Pushing the boundaries of spinal cord research
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility