Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paper

The disparity in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians continues to increase. Barriers to accessing health care, particularly surgical treatment, contribute to health inequalities among Indigenous Australians. Despite a positive correlation between improved patient exper...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maureen Joye, Paula Foran
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Australian College of Perioperative Nurses 2023-03-01
Series:Journal of Perioperative Nursing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.acorn.org.au/index.php/jpn/article/view/134
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849311399998652416
author Maureen Joye
Paula Foran
author_facet Maureen Joye
Paula Foran
author_sort Maureen Joye
collection DOAJ
description The disparity in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians continues to increase. Barriers to accessing health care, particularly surgical treatment, contribute to health inequalities among Indigenous Australians. Despite a positive correlation between improved patient experiences and health outcomes, there is little research available on nursing interventions to improve Indigenous patients’ perioperative health care treatment. This discussion paper investigates culturally appropriate and evidence-based nursing interventions that can be applied in the perioperative setting to improve the surgical experience of Indigenous patients. It was shown that establishing trust among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients through anaesthetic nurse practices and advocating for family involvement is critical in providing culturally safe care and enhancing patient experiences. Indigenous health liaison officers were also identified as a valuable resource in bridging cultural and communication gaps between health care providers and Indigenous patients. These findings demonstrate that using tailored nursing strategies while providing perioperative care to Indigenous Australians can enhance their perioperative health care experience and contribute to improving health outcomes of Indigenous Australians. It is therefore recommended that perioperative nurses adopt these strategies; however, further research is needed to investigate implementation of an enhanced role for anaesthetic nurses, advocating for family involvement and referral to Indigenous health liaison officers. Such research should evaluate the impact of these new holistic and patient-centred approaches on the health outcomes and experiencecs of Indigenous patients.
format Article
id doaj-art-aa872847cff848139d0d18c720d78d8f
institution Kabale University
issn 2209-1084
2209-1092
language English
publishDate 2023-03-01
publisher Australian College of Perioperative Nurses
record_format Article
series Journal of Perioperative Nursing
spelling doaj-art-aa872847cff848139d0d18c720d78d8f2025-08-20T03:53:23ZengAustralian College of Perioperative NursesJournal of Perioperative Nursing2209-10842209-10922023-03-0136110.26550/2209-1092.1247Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paperMaureen JoyePaula Foran The disparity in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians continues to increase. Barriers to accessing health care, particularly surgical treatment, contribute to health inequalities among Indigenous Australians. Despite a positive correlation between improved patient experiences and health outcomes, there is little research available on nursing interventions to improve Indigenous patients’ perioperative health care treatment. This discussion paper investigates culturally appropriate and evidence-based nursing interventions that can be applied in the perioperative setting to improve the surgical experience of Indigenous patients. It was shown that establishing trust among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients through anaesthetic nurse practices and advocating for family involvement is critical in providing culturally safe care and enhancing patient experiences. Indigenous health liaison officers were also identified as a valuable resource in bridging cultural and communication gaps between health care providers and Indigenous patients. These findings demonstrate that using tailored nursing strategies while providing perioperative care to Indigenous Australians can enhance their perioperative health care experience and contribute to improving health outcomes of Indigenous Australians. It is therefore recommended that perioperative nurses adopt these strategies; however, further research is needed to investigate implementation of an enhanced role for anaesthetic nurses, advocating for family involvement and referral to Indigenous health liaison officers. Such research should evaluate the impact of these new holistic and patient-centred approaches on the health outcomes and experiencecs of Indigenous patients. https://journal.acorn.org.au/index.php/jpn/article/view/134Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderperioperative health care experienceIndigenousIndigenous health liaison officersperioperative nursing
spellingShingle Maureen Joye
Paula Foran
Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paper
Journal of Perioperative Nursing
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
perioperative health care experience
Indigenous
Indigenous health liaison officers
perioperative nursing
title Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paper
title_full Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paper
title_fullStr Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paper
title_full_unstemmed Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paper
title_short Strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: A discussion paper
title_sort strategies to optimise culturally appropriate perioperative care for aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples a discussion paper
topic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
perioperative health care experience
Indigenous
Indigenous health liaison officers
perioperative nursing
url https://journal.acorn.org.au/index.php/jpn/article/view/134
work_keys_str_mv AT maureenjoye strategiestooptimiseculturallyappropriateperioperativecareforaboriginalandtorresstraitislanderpeoplesadiscussionpaper
AT paulaforan strategiestooptimiseculturallyappropriateperioperativecareforaboriginalandtorresstraitislanderpeoplesadiscussionpaper