Trying to figure out how to make your way through a cancer diagnosis and the next steps would be difficult for anyone, but a surgical oncologist and USask professor believes it’s even more challenging for Indigenous people.
That’s why Dr. Gary Groot began a pilot research program to figure out what barriers can be removed.
The study involves Indigenous patients from several northern communities who are interviewed as they go through their cancer journey.
Dr. Groot explains that some of the challenges are similar across the board, including accessibility to care and your economic situation.
However, he suggests there are also challenges that arise out of colonization and its impact through generations.
Culture can also be a factor, Groot says, because there can be a different world view around health which western practitioners may not know about and aren’t sensitive to.
The goal is to remove barriers patients face in accessing and receiving care, and to raise awareness among health care providers about the importance of creating culturally safe and appropriate supports for Indigenous patients.