Theme 3: Crossing Interprofessional, Intercultural, and Interpersonal Boundaries in Knowledge Building Shared Resources: Collaboration and New Technologies

Patient centred care in the Canadian multicultural mosaic: Issues and challenges Ruth Lee, Hamilton Health Sciences, ON, Canada

Poster Abstract The problem this presentation investigates is how to promote collective cognitive responsibilities for patient centred care (Scardamalia, 2003). Specially, I’m exploring the issue of cultural diversity as it relates to patient centred care. Statistics Canada (2001) indicates that Canada is home to over 100 different cultural groups. More than half of Canada’s recent immigrants are from Asian countries rather than from European countries - the main source of immigration during the post World War II era. Our health care system is built on Western health belief and values. As Canada becomes a more racially and ethnically diverse nation, our health care system and providers need to respond to patients’ varied health beliefs and practices, values and ways of life. In the hospital setting, technologies and practices can be unfamiliar and intimidating to the general public, especially to immigrants who have a different health belief system and limited knowledge of the Western health care system. Misconception or miscommunication can compromise the quality of care to patients, and create undue distress for patients and families as well as frustration for the health care workers. I’m currently exploring how a knowledge-building framework would foster deeper understanding of intercultural differences amongst patient and health care providers. I propose that effective patient centred care requires both patient and health care providers who take collective cognitive responsibility for health care. This presentation explores how to operationalize two principles in particular - epistemic agency and democratization of knowledge (Scardamalia, 2003; Russell, 2002) as they relate to intercultural patient centred care. This presentation seeks to set out the beginnings of a knowledge building patient centred care model. Poster' Slides