Bridging the Gap between Health Communication and Interculturality: A Case Study of Maternal Healthcare for Indigenous Canadian Women in Ottawa

Abstract

Indigenous women in Canada face a severe lack of access to health care. These women often experience anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare facilities, a lack of cultural safety, and the non-recognition of Indigenous healing and health methods. Language hurdles, gender differences, and privacy concerns over medical records all contribute to intercultural communication problems between Indigenous women and health professionals. Intercultural Communication refers to the study and practice of communication across different cultural contexts. It involves understanding how people from different countries and cultures act, communicate and perceive the world around them. It also requires awareness of one's own cultural background, values and beliefs and how they may affect the communication process.

This study explores how intercultural communication could be used as a tool to improve information on access to healthcare to Indigenous women in Canada within Ottawa. This research investigated the challenges in health communication and in maternal healthcare access among Native Canadian mothers and mothers-to-be when seeking medical attention.

Various previous studies have demonstrated that there are intercultural obstacles to Indigenous Maternal healthcare in Canada, which makes treating different disorders and disseminating health information difficult.

The present research uses a mixed method, which combines quantitative (survey questionnaires) and qualitative methods (systematic literature review) to collect data. The final part of the thesis will provide in-depth findings and analysis to the research.