1. CULTURAL SAFETY IN MUSLIM AGED CARE
Mahjabeen Ahmad

2. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
Cultural safety
Muslim identity
Muslim cultural safety issues/challenges
Enablers
Shared responsibility
IFA 2016

3. CULTURAL SAFETY
Responding to individuals and their care needs within the context of their culture
Remains an evolving term
Concept originated in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in late 1980s to address Indigenous Maori people’s health inequalities
Architect of cultural safety--late Irihapeti Ramsden, Maori nurse and healthcare campaigner.
IFA 2016

4. Second, you must never forget that I’m black.”
“The first thing you do is to forget that I’m black.
Second, you must never forget that I’m black.”
---Pat Parker, For the white person who wants to know how to be my friend
IFA 2016

5. MUSLIMS…... Adopt Islam as a complete code of life
Are not a homogenous group
Share a strong religious identity
Have different levels of faith observance:
practicing, cultural, and nominal Muslims
IFA 2016

6. CULTURE AND IDENTITY OF MUSLIMS
Islamic culture
Muslim culture(s)
Dual or hyphenated identity
Acculturation.
IFA 2016

7. THE ‘OTHER’ IN OUR COMMUNITY
Islamophobia; bogeyman of many politicians and media
Highly visible signs of commitment to religious beliefs dissimilar and distinct from the dominant/ mainstream culture; perceived as threat to ‘our values and our way of life’
Additional layer of ‘Otherness’.
IFA 2016

8. FROM THE INVISIBLE TO THE VISIBLE: MUSLIM CULTURAL SAFETY
Cultural risk not always rooted in past colonial history
Muslims at higher risk of experiencing discrimination and prejudice:
Community vulnerability
Individual exposure to cultural risks by virtue of group identity
Power not only inherent in positions---power inequities also come in the form of knowledge and skill levels
No safety in numbers for Muslims in aged care
Religion and related needs getting subsumed within a broad definition of culture
Breadth and depth of influence of faith values and observances on everyday lives of practicing Muslims and, consequently, on their care routines.
IFA 2016

9. AGEING IN THE ‘WRONG PLACE’?
Lack of social or family support structure
Lack of community capacity or resources to support the elderly
Access and powerlessness issues.
IFA 2016

10. ENGAGING WITH THE ‘OTHER’
Awareness of public discourse of non- dominant cultures and religions and its effects
Perceptions influencing willingness to work for and with those from different religious and cultural groups
Being careful of unconscious or unspoken expression or application of power differential.
IFA 2016

11. CREATING CULTURALLY SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Recognising centrality of faith: cultural expressions of Muslims are, in many instances, religious expressions
Recognition of this expression or manifestation in public spaces to be carefully negotiated in a secular environment --- ‘no public space is culturally neutral’ 1
An enabling or supportive environment that empowers people and gives assurance of cultural continuity
People not feeling the pressure to defend their identity or rationalize their specific or unique needs.
Tariq Modood, Multiculturallism, John Wiley & Sons, 2013, p. 1917
IFA 2016

12. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Interculturalism
Biculturalism
Proactive engagement
Trust and confidence
Strong community advocacy
Strengthening of mutual capacity through shared learning.
IFA 2016

13. THANK YOU!