“If they help us, we can help them”: First Nations peoples identify intercultural health communication problems and solutions in hospital in northern Australia

Effective intercultural communication between First Nations peoples and healthcare providers in colonised countries is required to deliver equitable healthcare and improve patient experiences and health outcomes.

This paper presents First Nations peoples’ perspectives and proposed solutions to problematic communication experiences at Royal Darwin Hospital in northern Australia. The study’s methodological foundations comprise decolonising principles rooted in Critical Race Theory, Freirean pedagogy, and cultural safety. Eleven individuals from diverse First Nations backgrounds receiving treatment at the largest hospital in the Northern Territory, participated in in-depth interviews conducted in their preferred languages. Data were inductively analysed, adapted from a constructivist grounded theory approach and guided by First Nations knowledges.

First Nations patients at Royal Darwin Hospital described a culturally unsafe hospital due to ineffective intercultural communication. Patient “counterstories” recounted instances of confusion, aggression, healthcare provider resistance to shared decision-making opportunities, pressure to abandon cultural protocols, and institutional neglect. Poor communication incited anger among staff and patients, and contributed to experiences of racism, missed appointments, clinical mistakes, patients prematurely discharging before completing treatment, and patients experiencing financial troubles and homelessness. In a spirit of generosity, patients proposed solutions focused on relationship building and mutual understanding so that new decolonised systems, which draw on First Nations and Western knowledges, can be codesigned.

This study serves as a call to action for policymakers, administrators, and healthcare providers to prioritise improving intercultural communication by addressing the behaviour of staff and changing systemically racist policies in the pursuit of health equity and cultural safety for First Nations peoples.