Introduction
Indigenous peoples frequently have difficulty accessing appropriate primary healthcare services supplied by mainstream institutions. It can be challenging to ensure that indigenous peoples have access to health care since they frequently face additional challenges, such as ignoring their experiences with discrimination and racism. The article’s purpose is to identify Indigenous peoples’ challenges in gaining access to primary health care and then study how Indigenous health care services sought to overcome these hurdles.
Background Context
Throughout human history, several attempts and conferences have been formed to provide indigenous and non-indigenous groups with equitable access to medical treatment. According to the 1982 Act, Inuit, Metis, and First Nations people are all examples of what the Canadian government considers aboriginal individuals (Allen et al., 2020). Among the most critical barriers is the difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified medical workers, long wait times, and limited access to diagnostic and preventive services and amenities (Greenwood et al., 2018).
Concerns have been raised about Indigenous peoples’ cultural rights due to the seeming lack of concern demonstrated by accessible healthcare practitioners for the lives of Indigenous people (Horrill et al., 2018). In an effort to assist people in living healthy lives, the concept of public health rules was first presented in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotions in 1986 (Wilberg et al., 2019). As a result, all people, whether of Indigenous or non-Indigenous background, are expected to have equitable access to medical treatment.
Cultural Rights Barriers to Access to Healthcare Services
Indigenous peoples often face disparities in access to medical care because of their communities’ racism and cultural barriers. The Canadian Act of 1984 mandates that the federal government ensures people access to proper medical care considering their cultural backgrounds (Reid et al., 2019). Research shows no entitlement to culturally appropriate healthcare under the Act, and a thorough investigation confirmed this (Kitching et al., 2019).
Due to the Indian Act’s exclusion of everything linked to the Act, it is challenging to ensure that all Canadians have equitable access to healthcare services. It makes assuring access equity more difficult (Wylie & McConkey, 2018). On the other hand, indigenous people have diverse cultures, some of which may be familiar to various healthcare professionals (Kitching et al., 2019). Since medical professionals presume that Aboriginal people have poor levels of education, they do not view it as necessary to be concerned about their health.
Language Barrier
A language and cultural divide are one of the barriers preventing indigenous people from getting healthcare services. For instance, it can be challenging for some indigenous people to access healthcare because they do not speak French or English, especially the Inuit in certain regions (Allen et al., 2020). Differences in culture and language between patients and medical professionals can lead to medical personnel neglecting symptoms that are important to patients (Reid et al., 2019). This causes patients to not follow through with prescribed treatments, resulting in patient’s healthcare requirements not being satisfied.
Racism
Indigenous people in Canada experience a significant barrier in the form of racial bias in healthcare facilities, which prohibits them from receiving medical assistance. The proportion of indigenous people suffering from unpleasant ailments is increasing, and prejudice is largely to blame (Reid et al., 2019). For instance, it is not uncommon for Indigenous people in Canada to have shockingly high rates of chronic disease, necessitating access to specialist care. Due to high levels of discrimination within healthcare facilities, sick Indigenous persons are likely to have limited access to medical services.
Conclusion
Inadequate legislation, cultural discrimination, racism, and a lack of a shared language contribute to the difference in healthcare access between indigenous and non-indigenous people. Unfortunately, this has resulted in additional difficulties, such as insufficient public education, refusal of preventative services, and excessive hospital wait times. While Canada has made progress to ensure that all individuals have access to adequate healthcare, Indigenous peoples continue to face challenges in this area. Cultural rights and racial prejudice undoubtedly play a part in Indigenous peoples’ inability to obtain equal access to medical care.
References
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Kitching, G. T., Firestone, M., Schei, B., Wolfe, S., Bourgeois, C., O’Campo, P., Rotondi, M., Nisenbaum, R., Maddox, R., & Smylie, J. (2019). Unmet health needs and discrimination by healthcare providers among an indigenous population in Toronto, Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 111(1), 40–49. Web.
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