Health Planning for Indigenous Populations: A Rapid Evidence Review

Abstract

Addressing health inequalities for Indigenous Peoples and communities is an urgent priority in Canada. The aim of this evidence review was to better understand the challenges and best practices of health planning for Indigenous populations. In total, 29 articles met our inclusion criteria, from which we distilled four main themes: (a) Managing health care in organizations serving Indigenous clientele; (b) Assessing Indigenous health needs and their related costs; (c) Toward cultural safety in health planning; and (d) Stakeholder participation in health planning. Our review indicates that while little has been published about challenges and best practices of health planning for Indigenous populations, there are important lessons to be learned from this literature, including promising practices for decision makers.