FNHA Vancouver Island Region Primary Care Provider Learning Journeys

The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is a BC-wide health and wellness partner that works with its health partners to embed cultural safety and humility into health service delivery and improve health outcomes for First Nations people. FNHA sought support to develop culturally relevant learning journeys to train primary care providers who would be working in the emerging First Nations Primary Care Initiatives (FNPCIs) on Vancouver Island as well as a North Island FNPCI Service Plan.

Working with Sara Argumedo Gomez and Lara Therrien Boulos, our team worked collaboratively with Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-Chah-Nulth communities participating in FNPCIs to co-create culturally relevant learning journeys for primary care providers. The approach used for this project included a holistic and relational process that emphasized Indigenous ways of being and knowing, and further reflected these values within the structure and content of the deliverable. We accomplished this through one-on-one relational interviews with key individuals; group dialogues; community visits; governance gatherings; doing extensive and holistic background research into Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-Chah-Nulth cultures and frameworks; and a relational review and confirmation process. Communities directed us to create a multi-facted, multi-media toolkit that would meet different communities where they are at. Drawing on our relationships and engagement information, we further supported the development of the North Island FNPCI Service Plan.