Ceremony, Respect, and Understanding: Storytelling as Method for Indigenous Patient Experience Measurement to Inform Culturally Safe Care

Globally, it is essential that Indigenous-specific patient healthcare experience metrics are developed, to ensure that the distinct experiences of Indigenous Peoples in healthcare are captured appropriately. In this study, we sought to understand Indigenous Elders' perspectives on storytelling as a way to measure and respond to Indigenous patients’ healthcare experiences. This study is led by a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, committed to using culturally safe approaches throughout all stages of research. Four individual interviews were conducted with Indigenous Elders who serve patients in the healthcare system in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada, and thematic and narrative analyses were used to identify themes pertaining to the use of storytelling in the Elders’ work, and as an approach to measuring Indigenous patients’ experiences. Four BC First Nations Elders participated in one-on-one in-depth interviews between March and August 2023. Elders shared that an important element of storytelling is the ability to centre positive conversation to help with a patients’ healing journey. Storytelling, which represents a traditional practice of knowledge translation for many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, was found to connect Indigenous Peoples to cultural teachings and supports, which allowed for the building and strengthening of relationships between patients, families, and healthcare providers. Findings illustrate that storytelling is an important and effective strategy for measuring and responding to Indigenous patients’ healthcare experiences. Study results support the use of storytelling as a method for measuring Indigenous patients’ healthcare experiences, and future research should focus on understanding community perspectives and logistics of implementing a storytelling-based, Indigenous-specific patient experience measurement tool.