First Nations involvement in health policy decision-making : the paradox of meaningful involvement
department or school: Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Fridkin, Alycia Jayne
issued: 2016-03-02T02:01:58
issued: 2016
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Alongside consistent reporting on health inequities affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people have been routinely excluded from health policy decision-making. This pattern of exclusion perpetuates health policy decisions that are often ineffective at addressing the root causes of persistent health inequities. Despite Indigenous peoples’ repeated calls to be meaningfully involved, and the emergence of health policy initiatives that include Indigenous peoples, the influence of neoliberalism and neocolonialism in the Canadian policy sphere continues to undermine self-determination and limit Indigenous peoples’ involvement in health policy processes. Those advocating for Indigenous health equity are left wrestling with the question: What constitutes, and what can foster, meaningful involvement in the contemporary health policy climate? This exploratory qualitative research aims to provide a window of insight into this urgent social justice question by exploring the perspectives of twenty leaders and decision-makers in First Nations health and other areas of health policy, with a view to understanding what constitutes meaningful involvement of First Nations peoples in health policy decision-making in BC and Canada. A critical analysis of these data reveals that meaningful involvement is often experienced as a paradox where Indigenous people are excluded via processes of inclusion, and that fostering meaningful involvement requires attuning to the underlying power dynamics inherent in policymaking and taking action to decolonize and transform the policy system itself. Based on this analysis, I articulate a new conceptualization of and framework for meaningful involvement, which is rooted in seven key elements: Recognizing and Representing Indigenous Peoples; Interrupting and Re-imagining Relationships; Preparing Agreements; Practicing Protocols; Leveraging Power; Exerting Community Authority; and Shifting Social Structures. This dissertation concludes with…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/57073
note: FIRST NATIONS INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH POLICY DECISION-MAKING: THE PARADOX OF MEANINGFUL INVOLVEMENT by ALYCIA JAYNE FRIDKIN Hon. B.A., McMaster University, 2002 B.A., McMaster University, 2004 M.H.Sc., The University of Toronto, 2006 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) February 2016 © Alycia Jayne Fridkin, 2016 ii ABSTRACT Alongside consistent reporting on health inequities affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people have been routinely excluded from health policy decision-making. This pattern of exclusion perpetuates health policy decisions that are often ineffective at addressing the root causes of persistent health inequities. Despite Indigenous peoples’ repeated calls to be meaningfully involved, and the emergence of health policy initiatives that include Indigenous peoples, the influence of neoliberalism and neocolonialism in the Canadian policy sphere continues to undermine self-determination and limit Indigenous peoples’ involvement in health policy processes. Those advocating for Indigenous health equity are left wrestling with the question: What constitutes, and what can foster, meaningful involvement in the contemporary health policy climate? This exploratory qualitative research aims to provide a window of insight into this urgent social justice question by exploring the perspectives of twenty leaders and decision-makers in First Nations health and other areas of health policy, with a view to understanding what constitutes meaningful involvement of First Nations peoples in health policy decision-making in BC and Canada. A critical analysis of these data reveals that meaningful involvement is often experienced as a paradox where Indigenous people are excluded via processes of inclusion, and that fostering meaningful involvement requires attuning to the und…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2016-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0225962
language: eng
degree discipline: Interdisciplinary Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/ca/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/57073