Relational approaches to fostering health equity for Indigenous children through early childhood intervention^*

* Affiliation where research was conducted: Graduate Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, T325 – 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 2B5.

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on key findings of a critical qualitative inquiry undertaken with an Indigenous early child development (ECD) program in Canada, known as the Aboriginal Infant Development Program (AIDP). In depth, semi-structured interviews were used to obtain the perspectives of: Indigenous caregivers and Elders, AIDP workers, and administrative leaders. The findings centre on: (1) a relational perspective of family wellbeing that emphasises the inseparability between child health inequities and the impact of structural social factors on families’ lives, and (2) how AIDP workers’ enact relational accountability to families by: (a) fostering cultural connections; (b) creating networks of belonging and support; (c) responding to caregivers’ self-identified priorities; (d) mitigating racism in healthcare encounters, and (e) deferring an ‘ECD agenda’. Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, these findings illustrate relational approaches to early intervention, characterised by a broader and socially responsive scope of practice and the deferral of a normative ‘ECD agenda’. This study has relevance in a variety of international contexts and to a broad range of disciplines and programs that serve families and children impacted by structural inequities.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical theory
• early childhood development
• health equity
• Indigenous peoples
• marginalised populations
• qualitative research

Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to Dr. Margo Greenwood for her expertise as this study was conducted, to the leadership of the Aboriginal Infant Development Program of BC as the community research partner, and to all the participants who gave so generously of their time in sharing their perspectives and experiences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCiD

Melinda J. Suto http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3275-7302

Notes

* Affiliation where research was conducted: Graduate Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, T325 – 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 2B5.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [grant number 167748].