Understanding and Addressing Quality of Emergency Care for First Nations Members in Alberta

In this session, sponsored by the SAEM Global Emergency Medicine Academy (GEMA), speakers will discuss disparities in emergency care for First Nations patients in the Canadian province of Alberta. Quantitative findings include disparities in rates of emergency department (ED) use, outcomes of triage assessments, and rates of leaving EDs without completing care. Qualitative findings include physicians' and nurses' reports of discrimination and stereotyping impacting care. In turn, First Nations patients and health directors describe emergency care encounters as ongoing sources of personal, family, and community suffering. Presenters will describe their efforts to counter anti-Indigenous racism through simulation education and development of a pilot intervention program.