Safer Healthcare for Australia's First Peoples (FutureLearn)

You’ll learn and apply knowledge of local community in a range of health and human services areas. You’ll also gain an important insight into how colonisation continues to affect the health of Australia’s First Peoples.
Ultimately, you’ll understand how to build relationships and work in true partnership to deliver safer healthcare services.

What topics will you cover?

• Overview of the 5 cultural capabilities required by health and human services workers and introduction to the importance of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health and Human Services workers in keeping culture central towards better health outcomes for Australia’s First Peoples.
• Cultural Capability 1: Cultural Respect - recognise and respect the diversity of First Peoples’ cultures and the impact of history on First Peoples knowledges including ways of knowing, being and doing and how this may influence health practice.
• Cultural Capability 2: Communication - learn how to build respectful relationships and partnerships by communicating in a culturally safe way.
• Cultural Capability 3: Safety and quality - discover evidence based best practice approaches in clinical care and disease prevention ensuring culturally and clinically safe healthcare.
• Cultural Capability 4: Reflection - reflect on the influence of your cultural identity and the impact of racism, stereotypes and power relations on culturally and clinically safe healthcare.
• Cultural Capability 5: Advocacy - learn how to promote and advocate for equity, human rights and social change in health care for Australia’s First Peoples.

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

• Describe the 5 cultural capabilities required by health and human services workers to deliver culturally safe care.
• Explain the difference between Aboriginal health and cultural safety.
• Explore Australia’s First Peoples’ knowledges including ways of knowing, ways of being and ways of doing.
• Engage in culturally safe communication with Australia’s First Peoples.
• Apply a strengths-based, best practice approach to First Peoples’ healthcare, recognising the whole health system is responsible.
• Reflect on your own culture and biases and identify how this may influence your perceptions and interactions with First Peoples.
• Contribute to social change by advocating for equitable outcomes and social justice for First Peoples.