Background Traditional healing methods that prioritize the worldviews and knowledge of First Nations people and communities are pivotal and can be integrated throughout the care process in the way that dementia is screened for and diagnosed. The Canadian Indigenous Cognitive Assessment Tool is a culturally safe dementia a screening tool that requires ongoing thoughtful integration of traditional healing medicine practices to be successfully integrated into current health policy and practice across Canada. In Canada, over the next decade, the number of First Nations people over the age of 60 with dementia will increase four‐fold. This is in comparison to a 2.3‐fold increase in the non‐First Nations population. First Nations Elders seek spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental balance in preventing dementia and empowering First Nations people to live healthy lives through traditional healing medicine practices. Access to culturally safe geriatric care and dementia diagnosis among First Nations older adults is a challenge and there is little research aimed at addressing this gap. Within this limited area of research, there is even less research dedicated to how First Nations older adults’ access to traditional medicines, healing, and practices in the prevention and maintenance of dementia care. Within this forum, this presentation will highlight my learning and my passion for this research area. Through a decolonizing research approach, I propose exploring the pathways that will help to fill the gap between traditional healers and health care providers within dementia care and prevention. The primary research question is rooted in First Nations community priorities and asks: “what are the pathways to fill the gap between care providers and traditional healers to integrate traditionally healing medicine practices into dementia care and prevention in Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island?” Through relationship‐building and close collaboration with the First Nations community members from the Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory, this work will exemplify how to frame and uncover the missing link between First Nations use of traditional healing medicines and First Nations dementia care within a mainstream medical system by carrying out an exploratory qualitative Indigenous research design and method.
Objective:In this scoping review we aim to explore approaches to the integration of traditional healing and medicine in dementia care for Indigenous communities in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. We aim to understand the roles and experiences of traditional healers, strategies and their evaluation, and the barriers and opportunities for integration of Indigenous and western dementia care approaches. Introduction: Access to culturally safe geriatric care and dementia assessment, diagnosis,
BackgroundAccess to culturally‐safe dementia assessment, diagnosis, and care in Indigenous populations worldwide is an emerging challenge. In 2018, the World Health Organization recognized traditional healers as stakeholders in dementia care and prevention globally. Traditional healers contribute to dementia assessment, diagnosis, and care in unique ways, and play a catalytic role in the process of culturally‐safe dementia care planning and assessment with health care providers at the community level. The purpose of this scoping review was to understand the roles and experiences of traditional healers, to evaluate strategies for integration between Indigenous traditional healing and western dementia care approaches, and to examine the policy barriers and research gaps in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.MethodThe scoping review methodology used was the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) approach that included six steps: protocol development based on participants, content and context framework, development of a search strategy, selection of relevant studies, charting of relevant data, synthesis, and reporting of results, and conducting stakeholder consultation.ResultSearched English literature in select bibliographic databases, including CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline and PsycINFO. The initial search identified 516 papers published between 2000 and 2020 that met the search criteria. After 164 duplicates were removed, we screened 352 titles and abstracts, excluding the 209 that did not meet the inclusion criteria. The second stage review of 143 full‐text studies resulted in the further exclusion of 141 studies. Only two studies from Canada met all inclusion criteria for this study and explored the potential integration of traditional healing in dementia care and the roles, perceptions, and experiences of traditional healers.ConclusionThis study emphasizes the inclusion of traditional healers, knowledge‐holders, and Grandmother groups that can contribute to building an evidence‐based dementia care decision‐making process for Indigenous people with dementia. Integration of Indigenous traditional healing and medicine in dementia care is a path to culturally‐safe dementia care and assessment. diagnosis. The study has policy implications for health care provider education and advocacy needs to engage with traditional healers in dementia care. It recommends two community‐based models to establish culturally‐safe dementia care between traditional healers and healthcare providers in a seamless collaboration.
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