The Socio-Political Impacts on Health Care that Effect Aboriginal Nurses Working in Aboriginal Communities

Abstract

The work-life experiences of Aboriginal nurses in Atlantic Canada have been an understudied field. This paper will discuss the socio-political context of Aboriginal nursing, a major theme of a recent study which investigated the work-life experiences of Aboriginal registered nurses in Atlantic Canada. This major theme will be presented under three sub-headings; band politics, government-band relationship, and access to resources. The purpose of the study was to understand the quality and nature of their work-life as this understanding is fundamental to the development of effective health care programs for Aboriginal peoples. The research design was a grounded theory informed by community based participatory research (CBPR) approach. The primary mode of data collection was interviews with 22 registered Aboriginal nurses in the Atlantic region of Canada and constant comparative method facilitated data analysis. Atlas ti computer software was used for storage and data management. The discussion of these findingsilluminate the centrality of Aboriginal nursesin the delivery of healthcare in Aboriginal communities andprovides evidence of how Aboriginal nurses are delivering programs in the community. Implications for practice as Aboriginal nurses work to addressAboriginal health care and some suggestions for improving the work-life of Aboriginal nurses including some leadership and capacity building strategies are presented.