First Nations involvement in health policy decision-making : the paradox of meaningful involvement ...

• Main Author: Fridkin, Alycia Jayne
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2016
• Subjects: Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0225962; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0225962

Alongside consistent reporting on health inequities affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people have been routinely excluded from health policy decision-making. This pattern of exclusion perpetuates health policy decisions that are often ineffective at addressing the root causes of persistent health inequities. Despite Indigenous peoples’ repeated calls to be meaningfully involved, and the emergence of health policy initiatives that include Indigenous peoples, the influence of neoliberalism and neocolonialism in the Canadian policy sphere continues to undermine self-determination and limit Indigenous peoples’ involvement in health policy processes. Those advocating for Indigenous health equity are left wrestling with the question: What constitutes, and what can foster, meaningful involvement in the contemporary health policy climate? This exploratory qualitative research aims to provide a window of insight into this urgent social justice question by exploring the perspectives of twenty leaders ...