Mâmawihitowin: Bringing the Camps Together: Learning about Indigenous Cultural Security for Improved Maternal Healthcare

• Author / Creator

  Bruno, Grant C

• In the Cree language, mâmawihitowin loosely translates as “bringing the camps together for a
  common goal”. Indigenous health outcomes are generally poorer than the mainstream
  population. Grounded in Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles, this thesis
  examines the development and implementation of a cultural security intervention for healthcare
  providers and staff who provide perinatal care for women and families from the Cree
  communities of Maskwacis. A CBPR project has been underway in collaboration with the
  community of Maskwacis for over four years (the “ENRICH First Nations Project”), aiming to
  understand how to better support pregnant women from the community. This thesis is an
  extension of the ENRICH project. The purpose of this study was to give an opportunity to HCPs
  and staff to experience my community in a positive and meaningful way. Other studies have
  shown culture awareness training is evolving to be more inclusive, but if not done appropriately
  can potentially do more harm than good. The results show that using a CBPR approach specific
  to my home community of Maskwacis, and through an Indigenous lens showed when a research
  study is community led it will yield rich and unique results that are ultimately beneficial to the
  community. Using a mixed methods approach for data collection and analysis provided rich
  results and much more comprehensive understanding of the research question. This thesis not
  only demonstrates the HCPs and staff experiences of participating in a cultural security
  intervention, but also establishes the effectiveness of a fully community led project and its
  impact in a healthcare setting.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Indigenous Maternal Health
  • Community Bases Participatory Research

• Graduation date

  Fall 2019

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-g5aw-vp46

• License

  Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.