An Introduction to Community and Primary Health Care

This chapter introduces Indigenous approaches to health care that have relevance for the Australian and Āotearoa New Zealand contexts. Several of the principles for practice are readily transferrable to other culturally and linguistically diverse populations. The challenges are undeniably major but the rewards are potentially transformative. Nursing training and education is most often located within mainstream, non-Indigenous settings. Health professionals who want to make a positive difference to the health outcomes of Indigenous clients should be equipped with knowledges and understandings that will facilitate effective engagement. Further, this chapter examines the historical influences that impacted on the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in both Āotearoa New Zealand and Australia, and considers the need for adopting Indigenous approaches to health care practice and engagement such as cultural safety, cultural responsiveness and other cultural frameworks. Finally, it examines the role of the community nurse in Indigenous primary health care