Bridging the Gap of Indigenous Health Inequity

Background: Indigenous Peoples in Canada have endured a significant history of colonization which has resulted in intergenerational disparities impacting individual and community wholistic health outcomes. This is complicated further for Indigenous Peoples who choose to access a complex mainstream, biomedical, colonial healthcare system. The role of the Indigenous Patient Navigator (IPN) has been identified as a strategy to address social determinants of health and provide a person-centered approach to empower individuals and families to establish a connection with appropriate health and social services. Purpose: The overall purpose of this study is to explore the role of the IPN across health care settings in the province of Ontario, Canada. More specifically, to understand the roles and activities IPNs undertake to address the health and social service barriers and enablers Indigenous community members experience when accessing the mainstream, biomedical healthcare system.  Methods: This is a multi-site qualitative study guided by the methodological principles of Interpretive Description and the guidance of the Two-Eyed Seeing approach to ensure the inclusion of non-Indigenous and Indigenous worldviews. Results: Thirty-six participants (20 IPNs and 16 Indigenous community members who accessed IPN services in Ontario, Canada) participated in semi-structured one-to-one, virtual or telephone interviews. Additionally, ten IPN organizational documents were reviewed for this study. Eight IPN roles are presented with corresponding activities including: 1) health and social service navigation, 2) wholistic support of Indigenous Peoples, 3) education, 4) Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional healing, 5) advocacy and capacity building, 6) administrative navigation, 7) leadership, and 8) outreach. Conclusion: This research provides a deeper understanding of the role of the IPN across health care settings and how the role addressees barriers and enablers Indigenous community members experience when accessing health and social services.