Healthcare facilities in B.C. using language to create more trusting environment for Indigenous

Studies have identified distrust of medical facilities as a key barrier for Indigenous patients accessing healthcare. A number of healthcare professionals in B.C. are now using Indigenous languages to connect with patients. They believe this creates a more welcoming environment, encouraging patients to return for follow-up care. The Central Interior Native Health Clinic in Prince George creates a welcoming space by hanging signs in Carrier, an Indigenous language spoken in the region, on waiting room walls and elsewhere in the office. Other clinics in Prince George include Carrier signage. At University Hospital of Northern B.C., artwork includes a phrase in Carrier. Northern Health, for its part, published a pocket-sized Gitxsan phrasebook for practitioners, which was well-received by Gitxsan speakers and practitioners. More than 1,500 copies are in print and a physician-specific version is in development.