‘language hierarchy in healthcare is a significant barrier to effective communication and connection with patients from diverse backgrounds’.

As expected, we have a super interesting mix of awesome people visiting our cups of tea sessions.  Responding to the question, ‘what are some of the exciting and/or interesting thing happening in your world:

• Starting a Pod-cast aimed at helping businesses differentiate themselves from other businesses in their field
• Working in in partnership with Māori, Te Tiriti, and come to the end of creating new standards for the food organic industry 
• Celebrating a recent graduation from a Māori Leadership Program 
• After 8 years, sent a finished book to publishers which is about the impact of colonisation on Indigenous people in Western Australia
• A project that helps open-source software project leaders connect and build a community that collaborates around their common struggles
• Working in a new role with interesting evolutions occurring. An example is the potential for Te Tiriti o Waitangi or Cultural Safety to be audited across an organisation as a systemic approach
• The potential to soon be working with and training a group of committed facilitators and to expand the practice and community 

A bonus about our cups of tea time is that outside of this and in our chat, people are connecting, sharing resources, and receiving genuine support as an unintended consequence of yarning together.  

In the second part of the conversation, we engaged in a discussion about the challenges presented by the healthcare system's language hierarchy and talked briefly on the importance of knowing about and monitoring how cultural safety plays out in workplaces or groups as examples. 

The story we began with conveyed a sense of frustration: "Participating in healthcare information and processes that have a hierarchical language format is disheartening. It's like [some languages] being ranked lower, and it makes some feel marginalised, e.g., Hindi is last on the list." This sentiment struck a chord with others in the group, as they recognised the adverse effects of the way systems gather information and handle sensitive matters, including the language used, which can significantly influence a person's experience within that system.

The conversation highlighted how hierarchical language formats as an example may seem small, but can inadvertently perpetuate inequities or feelings of authenticity and inclusiveness.  

One member shared the following;  ‘language hierarchy in healthcare is a significant barrier to effective communication and connection with patients from diverse backgrounds. We need a more inclusive approach to ensure that everyone feels acknowledged and valued.’

While the group acknowledged the problem, we agreed that it was about looking deeper into the historical and cultural structures of the systems and what needs to be done to be able to have different lenses or modes of operation.  

"Cultural safety is an ongoing challenge. We must eliminate barriers that hinder meaningful interactions with patients. It's about fostering an environment where they feel understood and respected."

As our conversation evolved, we began to explore the concept of Cultural Audits and how they could be utilised to bring about a transformation in various systems. We delved into the idea of using different perspectives as lenses to identify and address obstacles to inclusivity and cultural responsiveness. A few good examples and resources were shared among the group and would be a great topic to keep in mind for future discussions.  

We concluded our session in good spirits. No closer to the answers but closer for having spent time together. 

Mauriora, 
The Walk Together Team