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Cultural safety and First Nations health content within tertiary education for undergraduate health-care students: A scoping review
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Cultural safety and First Nations health content within tertiary education for undergraduate health-care students: A scoping review

Vicki Tillott, Stuart Barlo, Michelle Donelly, Beth Mozolic Staunton and Tarunna Sebastian
Australian occupational therapy journal, Vol.72(2), pp.1-24
04/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.70011
PMID: 40129184
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0,  Open Access
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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0,  Open

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#10 Reduced Inequalities

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Abstract

Aboriginal health education cultural safety assessment cultural safety education First Nations health education Indigenous health education medical and allied health undergraduate education
Introduction Many health professional university programs have integrated content on First Nations health into their curricula in response to the serious health inequities between First Nations and non-First Nations peoples. Methods A scoping review was conducted, aiming to provide a deeper understanding of the various ways that tertiary education institutions are incorporating content on First Nations health and cultural safety into health professional education curricula, and how learning outcomes related to cultural capability are assessed. Online databases were used to identify papers published globally between 1995 and 2021, from which 28 were selected. Consumer and community involvement First Nations co-authors, working alongside occupational therapy academics, have ensured that the meaning and context of the relevant studies have been thoroughly understood and that appropriate terminology has been used throughout the review. Findings There is considerable variability in the way that content on First Nations health is delivered and assessed within the tertiary sector for health-care students, internationally. There are limited assessment tools that provide a comprehensive understanding of the ability to work in a culturally safe manner with First Nations peoples. Conclusion The importance of having an understanding of First Nations peoples and health is recognised, with many institutions now, including this information into the university curricula as one method to positively impact the health outcomes of First Nations peoples, as well as in response to health professional accreditation and registration requirements. There remains variability with regard to how this content is delivered and assessed. Despite encouraging data on learning outcomes, it remains unclear whether this intervention has an impact on the health-care practices of graduates once they enter the workforce. Further research into the impact of this strategy is warranted in order to determine its effectiveness.

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