Describing COVID-19 immunizations for First Nations people on-reserve in Alberta using real-time integration of point of care and provincial data.

Background: COVID-19 profoundly impacted First Nation peoples. Historically, records of on- and off-reserve vaccine delivery have been fragmented. For the first time in Canada, we aimed to describe complete immunization rates, on- and off-reserve vaccine delivery, for COVID-19 in Alberta, Canada among First Nations on-reserve.

Impact of a national dementia research consortium: The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA).

The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) was created by the Canadian federal government through its health research funding agency, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), in 2014, as a response to the G7 initiative to fight dementia. Two five-year funding cycles (2014-2019; 2019-2024) have occurred following peer review, and a third cycle (Phase 3) has just begun. A unique construct was mandated, consisting of 20 national teams in Phase I and 19 teams in Phase II (with research topics spanning from basic to clinical science to health resource systems) along with cross-cutting programs to support them.

Nutritional interventions for indigenous adults in Canada - opportunities to sustain health and cultural practices: a scoping review.

Indigenous People in Canada possess rich cultural traditions, intertwined with a strong connection to nature. However, colonisation and contemporary challenges have given rise to changes in lifestyle and culture, resulting in health and nutrition disparities within these communities. The goal of this review was to explore the available literature of existing Indigenous nutrition programs for adults in Canada.

Advancing health equity for Indigenous peoples in Canada: development of a patient complexity assessment framework.

Background: Indigenous patients often present with complex health needs in clinical settings due to factors rooted in a legacy of colonization. Healthcare systems and providers are not equipped to identify the underlying causes nor enact solutions for this complexity. This study aimed to develop an Indigenous-centered patient complexity assessment framework for urban Indigenous patients in Canada.

Race as a determinant of prenatal depressive symptoms: analysis of data from the 'All Our Families' study.

Objectives: Prenatal depression is a serious maternal-child health concern. Risk factors and health consequences appear more prevalent in Indigenous communities and ethnic minority groups; however, research on these populations is limited. We examined the following questions: (A) How do pregnant Indigenous women, ethnic minority women, and White women compare on levels of depressive symptoms and possible clinical depression, and on major risk and protective factors? (B) Is non-dominant (non-White) race associated with higher depressive symptoms and possible clinical depression? (C) What factors mediate and moderate the relationship between race and depression?

Design: Data were from the study ( = 3354 pregnant women from Alberta, Canada).

Access, Relationships, Quality and Safety (ARQS): a qualitative study to cocreate an Indigenous patient experience tool for virtual primary care.

Background: Perspectives from Indigenous peoples and their primary care providers about the quality and impacts of virtual primary care for Indigenous patients are currently limited. This study engaged Indigenous patients and their primary care providers, resulting in four domains being established for an Indigenous patient experience tool for use in virtual primary care. In this paper, we explore the development and finalisation of the Access, Relationships, Quality and Safety (ARQS) tool.

Effectiveness of RADAR on diabetes processes of care for First Nations communities in Alberta, Canada.

The epidemic of type-2 diabetes in First Nations communities is tragic. Culturally-appropriate approaches addressing multiple components, focusing beyond glycemic control, are urgently needed. Using an intention-to-treat framework, 13 processes of care indicators were assessed to compare proportions of patients who received care at baseline relative to 2-year follow-up.

Critically examining health complexity experienced by urban Indigenous peoples in Canada by exploring the factors that allow health complexity to persist: a qualitative study of Indigenous patients in Calgary, Alberta.

Objectives: This study aims to identify and critically examine the components of health complexity, and explore the factors that allow it to exist, among urban Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Design: Qualitative exploration with relational conversations.

Setting: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Effectiveness of RADAR: An Innovative Model to Organize Diabetes Care in First Nations Communities.

Challenges exist for the management of diabetes care in First Nations populations. RADAR (Reorganizing the Approach to Diabetes through the Application of Registries) is a culturally appropriate, innovative care model that incorporates a disease registry and electronic health record for local care provision with remote coordination, tailored for First Nations people. This study assessed the effectiveness of RADAR on patient outcomes and diabetes care organization in participating communities in Alberta, Canada.

Readiness to Practice in Health Care: An Empirical Definition Based on a Content Analysis of the Literature.

Background: Health care services require practitioners to be ready to practice (R2P), but evidence shows new graduates vary in R2P. Unfortunately, there is a lack of clarity about what R2P entails.

Method: A content analysis of the empirical literature (Gaur & Kumar, 2018) was used to quantify the elements and higher-order categories of R2P.

Understanding virtual primary healthcare with Indigenous populations: a rapid evidence review.

Background: Virtual care has become an increasingly useful tool for the virtual delivery of care across the globe. With the unexpected emergence of COVID-19 and ongoing public health restrictions, it has become evident that the delivery of high-quality telemedicine is critical to ensuring the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples, especially those living in rural and remote communities.

Methods: We conducted a rapid evidence review from August to December 2021 to understand how high quality Indigenous primary healthcare is defined in virtual modalities.

Access, relationships, quality and safety (ARQS): a qualitative study to develop an Indigenous-centred understanding of virtual care quality.

Background: Among Indigenous peoples in Canada, access to high-quality healthcare remains an important determinant of health. The shift to virtual and remote-based approaches, expedited during the COVID-19 pandemic, influenced the ways in which individuals accessed care and the quality of care received. This study sought to determine which elements are required for effective and sustainable virtual care approaches for delivery of primary care to Indigenous patients and develop quality indicators grounded in Indigenous community and experience.

Patient complexity assessment tools containing inquiry domains important for Indigenous patient care: A scoping review.

Patient complexity assessment tools (PCATs) are utilized to collect vital information to effectively deliver care to patients with complexity. Indigenous patients are viewed in the clinical setting as having complex health needs, but there is no existing PCAT developed for use with Indigenous patients, although general population PCATs may contain relevant content. Our objective was to identify PCATs that include the inquiry of domains relevant in the care of Indigenous patients with complexity.

Propelled by the Pandemic: Responses and Shifts in Primary Healthcare Models for Indigenous Peoples.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant risk to the health and well-being of First Nations and Métis communities in Alberta. Communities' self-determined and integrated responses with embedded cultural supports - in collaboration with governments, organizations and providers - were key to minimizing morbidity and mortality. Maintaining and building these relationships in the continued pandemic response, broadening approaches to healthcare delivery and continuing to include culture will support attainment of the Indigenous primary healthcare model while addressing logistical challenges in transforming and sustaining healthcare systems in the background of ongoing inequities in the social determinants of health.

Indigenous strengths-based approaches to healthcare and health professions education - Recognising the value of Elders' teachings.

Background: A strengths-based lens is essential for the pursuit of health equity among Indigenous populations. However, health professionals are often taught and supported in practice via deficit-based approaches that perpetuate inequity for Indigenous peoples. Deficit narratives in healthcare and health education are reproduced through practices and policies that ignore Indigenous strengths, disregard human rights, and reproduce structural inequalities.

Examining the role of Indigenous primary healthcare across the globe in supporting populations during public health crises.

When health systems are overwhelmed during a public health crisis regular care is often delayed and deaths result from lapses in routine care. Indigenous primary healthcare (PHC) can include a range of programmes that incorporate treatment and management, prevention and health promotion, as well as addressing the social determinants of health (SDoH) and a focus on redressing health inequities. We examined how Indigenous PHC mobilises and innovates during a public health crisis to address patient needs and the broader SDoH.

Indigenous-specific cultural safety within health and dementia care: A scoping review of reviews.

Globally, health inequities experienced by Indigenous communities are often described and documented in terms of deficits and disease. However, health disparities are complex and involve numerous underlying issues beyond the social determinants of health. Indigenous Peoples face unique barriers to accessing culturally safe and equitable healthcare, including racism, systemic injustice, and a historical legacy of colonialism.

Arthritis liaison: a First Nations community-based patient care facilitator.

Introduction: Arthritis is a leading cause of disability in First Nations communities and is often accompanied by other chronic diseases. Existing care models prioritize accessibility to specialty care for treatment, whereas patient-centred approaches support broader health goals.

Methods: A patient care facilitator model of care, termed "arthritis liaison," was developed with the community to support culturally relevant patient-centred care plans.

Indigenous Mentorship in the Health Sciences: Actions and Approaches of Mentors.

: Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars have called for mentorship as a viable approach to supporting the retention and professional development of Indigenous students in the health sciences. In the context of Canadian reconciliation efforts with Indigenous Peoples, we developed an Indigenous mentorship model that details behavioral themes that are distinct or unique from non-Indigenous mentorship.: We used Flanagan's Critical Incidents Technique to derive mentorship behaviors from the literature, and focus groups with Indigenous faculty in the health sciences associated with the AIM-HI network funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

An equity-oriented admissions model for Indigenous student recruitment in an undergraduate medical education program.

Background: With the 2015 publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's calls to action, health professional schools are left grappling with how to increase the recruitment and success of Indigenous learners. Efforts to diversify trainee pools have long looked to quota-based approaches to recruit students from underserved communities, though such approaches pose dilemmas around meaningfully dismantling structural barriers to health professional education. Lessons shared here from developing one multi-layered admissions strategy highlight the importance of equity-rather than equality-in any recruitment for learners from medically underserved communities.

The Indigenous primary health care and policy research network: Guiding innovation within primary health care with Indigenous peoples in Alberta.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its Final Report with 94 Calls to Action, several of which called upon the health care sector to reform based on the principles of reconciliation. In the province of Alberta, Canada, numerous initiatives have arisen to address the health legacy Calls to Action, yet there is no formal mechanism to connect them all. As such, these initiatives have resulted in limited improvements overall.

Participant-reported effect of an Indigenous health continuing professional development initiative for specialists.

Background: Health outcomes of Indigenous patients are impacted by culturally unsafe specialty care environments. The 'Educating for Equity (E4E)' program is a continuing professional development (CPD) intervention which incorporates skill-based teaching to improve Indigenous patient experiences and outcomes in healthcare interactions.

Methods: The E4E program was delivered to rheumatologists in two phases, each delivered as experiential learning workshops where participants engaged with and applied course content within an interactive format focusing on real-time feedback.

"There are still a lot of things that I need": a qualitative study exploring opportunities to improve the health services of First Nations People with arthritis seen at an on-reserve outreach rheumatology clinic.

Background: Arthritis is a highly prevalent disease and leading cause of disability in the Indigenous population. A novel model of care consisting of a rheumatology outreach clinic in an on-reserve primary healthcare center has provided service to an Indigenous community in Southern Alberta since 2010. Despite quality assessments suggesting this model of care improves accessibility and is effective in meeting treatment targets, substantial improvements in patient-reported outcomes have not been realized.