Ways of knowing being and doing

You are the expert about your story and your body. Nobody knows your journey better than you do, and everyone’s journey is different. Here are some questions you can yarn about with your health professional to help them understand what’s important to you.

  • Where do you feel safe to talk about your heart health?
  • Who do you trust to talk about your heart health with?
  • Are there any stories you want to share about your heart health?
  • What is true for you about your heart health?
  • How can your community and family support your heart health?
  • How can physical and spiritual connections help you on your heart journey?
  • How can your culture and connection to land and sea help you on your heart journey?
  • How might your personal experiences affect your heart health?
  • What do you need to support your physical, social and emotional wellbeing?

“I guess you know being Indigenous…it’s hard for us to talk to non-Indigenous people…it’s good to talk with mob you know who could break it down for us and explain it. You felt comfortable enough to ask more questions then.”

– Community member

“It’s always a good experience when I have a female doctor… going to female health professional last time, yeah, I felt safe and I, you know, that trust was there even though I didn’t know this particular doctor beforehand.”

– Community member

“If it’s for Aboriginal people, they need to know where it comes from and how it started… Like where it comes from and who designed it and that’s important for people.”

– Community member

“When I went over to one our clinics, I really felt heard, I really felt respected, it wasn’t rushed and they actually sat down and treated you like a human being. They didn’t lecture you. They actually talked about looking at our strengths as to how we can improve our health and focusing on what was wrong type thing. So, you felt like a human being.”

– Community member