Purpose. Indigenous Peoples are underrepresented in the health professions. This paper examines indigenous identity and the quality and nature of nursing work-life. The knowledge generated should enhance strategies to increase representation of indigenous peoples in nursing to reduce health inequities.Design. Community-based participatory research employing Grounded Theory as the method was the design for this study. Theoretical sampling and constant comparison guided the data collection and analysis, and a number of validation strategies including member checks were employed to ensure rigor of the research process.Sample. Twenty-two Aboriginal nurses in Atlantic Canada.Findings. Six major themes emerged from the study: Cultural Context of Work-life, Becoming a Nurse, Navigating Nursing, Race Racism and Nursing, Socio-Political Context of Aboriginal Nursing, and Way Forward. Race and racism in nursing and related subthemes are the focus of this paper.Implications. The experiences of Aboriginal nurses as described in this paper illuminate the need to understand the interplay of race and racism in the health care system. Our paper concludes with Aboriginal nurses’ suggestions for systemic change at various levels.

ObjectivesThe provision of supportive and palliative care for an indigenous people in Nova Scotia, Canada, was examined to further our understanding and thereby improve cultural competency. Most of Nova Scotia's indigenous people are Mi'kmaq. The Mi'kmaq Nation lives in Atlantic Canada as well as New England in the eastern USA.MethodsThemes were identified in the literature and through discussion with seven experts who have Mi'kmaq health and cultural research expertise. This paper has been reviewed and approved by two Mi'kmaq consultants who frequently speak on behalf of the Mi'kmaq people in relation to health and cultural understanding. Recommendations for non-indigenous care providers are presented.ResultsThe themes identified focused on jurisdictional issues and cultural understanding. They are interconnected and grounded in the historic Mi'kmaq context of colonialism. Jurisdictional issues experienced by the Mi'kmaq affect access, continuity and appropriateness of care. Cultural concepts were associated with worldview, spirituality, the role of family and community relationships and communication norms, and thereby with the alignment of values and language in the provision of care. Three Mi'kmaq concepts are noted: apiksiktatulti, nemu'ltus and salite.ConclusionThrough reflection on the situation of Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaq, non-indigenous healthcare providers can assess how they might increase their cultural understanding in the provision of supportive and palliative care. Recommendations relate to the health system, relationships with individual persons and direction for research.

The nurses in this study saw building trust to promote health and well-being in communities as very important, yet very difficult to achieve. The difficulty in part stems from the constraining, structural, administrative, historical, cultural and political contextual realities that have shaped northern community nursing.

Postpartum home visiting by Public Health Nurses (PHNs) has been used by many health departments across Canada as a way of supporting new mothers and their families. Although positive health outcomes are linked with support from PHNs, little is known about how this occurs during the home visit. The purpose of this research was to explore how home visiting programs for mothers and babies were organized, delivered, and experienced through the everyday practices of PHNs, mothers, and managers in Nova Scotia, Canada. Feminist poststructuralism was used to guide the research and semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 PHNs, 16 mothers, and 4 managers. Participants described how relationships were an essential part of supporting mothers and families. These findings also challenge dominant health discourses and stereotypes that are often associated with mothering and the practice of PHNs with families.

Early home visits provided by public health nurses (PHNs) around the world have been proven to positively impact physical, social, emotional and mental health outcomes of mothers and babies. Most of the research has focused on home visiting programs delivered by public health nurses and lay home visitors to support <em>at</em> <em>risk</em> or <em>targeted</em> mothers. Little research has been conducted to examine <em>universal</em> home visiting programs for mothers who are perceived to be lower-risk. The purpose of this research was to explore how universal and targeted early home visiting programs for mothers and babies were organized, delivered and experienced through the everyday practices of PHNs, mothers, and managers in one city in Atlantic Canada. Feminist post-structuralism was used to collect and analyze data through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 16 PHNs, 16 mothers and 4 managers. Personal, social and institutional discourses of program delivery were examined using discourse analysis. Four main themes of the study include: i) understanding targeted and universal programming; ii) health outcomes; iii) building relationships; and iv) exploring a new surveillance. This article will discuss the first theme; understanding targeted and universal programming.

Maternal, child, and newborn health is a priority area in Canada and around the world. The work of public health nurses (PHNs) is often invisible and misunderstood. The purpose of this qualitative research project was to explore how universal and targeted home visiting programs for mothers and babies were organized, delivered, and experienced through the everyday practices of PHNs (n = 16) and mothers (n = 16) in Nova Scotia, Canada. Feminist poststructuralism and discourse analysis were used to analyze interviews. Concepts of relations of power enabled an understanding of how health outcomes had been socially and institutionally constructed through binary relations. PHNs and mothers spoke about the importance of “softer” health outcomes, including maternal self-confidence and empowerment that had been constructed as less important than health outcomes that were seen to be more tangible and physical. Findings from this research could be used to guide practice and planning of postpartum home visiting programs.

A culturally diverse nursing workforce is essential to meet the health needs of an increasingly diverse Canadian population. The recruitment and retention of nursing students representing diverse backgrounds are vital to the building of this diversified work force. Studies have shown that diversity within the student body benefits everyone. For example, students who study and work within a diverse environment are better able to understand and consider multiple perspectives and to appreciate the benefits inherent in diversity. This paper describes one school of nursing's project on the Recruitment and Retention of Black students into their Bachelor of Science Nursing (BScN) Program. The project goals are to increase diversity, foster student learning, and ultimately improve health care for the Black community. Presented in this paper are the project background, implementation process, challenges and outcomes. This may provide learned lessons and future directions for similar initiatives in other institutions.

Nationally, mental health has been identified as the top health priority by the Assembly of First Nations. 1,2 Regionally, the Mi'Kmaq Health Research Group has identified areas for improvement, a major one being mental health services. 3 In Nova Scotia, 73% of Mi'kmaq people live in First Nations communities, and analgesics, sedatives and antidepressants are the highest category of drug claims in this population. 4 While several studies have investigated Aboriginal mental health and services related to suicide and substance abuse, 5-7 minimal research has been done specifically about mental illness. 8 Current best practices recognize that psychiatric rehabilitation models framed under assumptions based on metropolitan urban areas are problematic. 9 Further, the literature stresses the need to integrate and coordinate an interdisciplinary team approach 10 and to address the cultural appropriateness and relevance of services. [11][12][13] Most significantly, Aboriginal perspectives and knowledge remain largely absent from the dominant discourse around mental health care. This arises from the socio-political marginalization of Aboriginal people and the design of services for individuals with severe mental illness (3% of the Canadian population), which fail to address the unique and complex concerns of Aboriginal communities. 14 METHODSCommunity-based participatory research 15,16 was the approach for this qualitative descriptive study aimed at increasing understanding of the gaps, barriers and successes/solutions in mental health services in Mi'kmaq communities. Health directors of the 13 Mi'kmaq communities invited university researchers to conduct the study. The health directors and researchers carefully adhered to Ownership, Control, Access and Possession principles for research with Aborigi-nal communities. 17,18 Health directors collaborated with the university researchers on decisions about the research question, interview guide, design, data collection, write-up and dissemination. The academic researchers conducted the structured, open-ended interviews and analyzed the data in consultation. The study was approved by ethics review boards at Dalhousie University and the Mi'kmaq Ethics Watch. Approval was also obtained from the 13 chiefs. Teleconferences with the health directors from the 13 Mi'kmaq communities were conducted by two of the researchers during proposal writing and after analysis and then completion of the study. Data collectionHealth directors wanted consumers, family members and health care providers interviewed to provide a broad range of understanding. The interview guide for all three groups focused on questions about participants' experience with mental illness, identifying