Meeting the health needs of Indigenous people: how is nursing education meeting the challenge?

Abstract

Australian Indigenous people continue to have health outcomes that are near to the worst in the world but similar to those of the Indigenous peoples in countries such as Canada and New Zealand. Numerous policies and strategies have been implemented in Australia in an attempt to rectify this situation. This paper provides an overview of the issues directly related to the provision of a skilled workforce prepared for delivery of appropriate health services to Indigenous people. It includes an overview of the need for Indigenous people in nursing and the issues facing them when they enrol in undergraduate nursing course. It also proposes changes necessary to ensure non-Indigenous nurses are better prepared to work effectively with Indigenous people in the future.