Measure 7.4: Dementia care by mainstream providers to First Nations people is culturally safe
According to The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021–2031, “Cultural safety is about how care is provided, rather than what care is provided. It requires practitioners to deliver safe, accessible and responsive health care that is free of racism by:
- recognising and responding to the power imbalance between practitioner and patient
- reflecting on their knowledge, skills, attitudes, practising behaviours, and conscious and unconscious biases.”
Whether care is culturally safe is determined by the person receiving care. It is important to measure whether culturally safe services are available, as in their absence, there can be negative outcomes for people living with dementia including not accessing or delaying use of important services and supports (AIHW 2023).
There are no data currently available to track this measure of progress and data development is needed.
For more information about cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people, see Cultural safety in health care (AIHW 2023).
AIHW (2023) Cultural safety in health care for Indigenous Australians: monitoring framework, AIHW website, accessed 7 October 2025.