What Is Cultural Safety and Humility?
Cultural safety is an outcome based on respectful engagement that recognizes and strives to address power imbalances inherent in the health care system. It results in an environment free of racism and discrimination, where people feel safe when receiving health care.
Cultural humility is a process of self-reflection to understand personal and systemic biases and to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships based on mutual trust. Cultural humility involves humbly acknowledging oneself as a learner when it comes to understanding another’s experience.
– from
Creating a Climate for Change
Leading a Framework for Cultural Safety and Humility
Declarations of Commitment
In July 2015 a movement began in which health authorities and organizations declared their commitment to embedding cultural safety and humility into their practice.
The BC Minister of Health, the FNHA and the CEOs from BC's six health authorities led the movement, followed in 2017 by all of the regulators that govern health professionals working in BC.
Timeline of Declarations
2015
2017
2018
- BC Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions
2019
Cultural Safety and Humility Action Webinar Series
These webinars were held to encourage participation, learning, self-reflection and positive change among BC's healthcare professionals.
The series supports the development of tools and skills for advancing cultural safety and humility and understanding and integrating this work into practice and interaction with First Nations clients.
"It Starts with Me" Campaign
In 2016, FNHA carried out a campaign to support health service staff in achieving the collective goal of culturally safe health services for First Nations and Aboriginal people in BC. The campaign was called #It Starts With Me.
The materials listed here were produced to support the initiative. These materials would be useful for any organization that wishes to carry out their own cultural safety and humility campaign.
