Cultural safety or cultural competence: How can we address inequities in culturally diverse groups?

Mental health nurses who uphold the principles of cultural safety have awareness of the beliefs, understandings and practices of diverse communities, and use this awareness to support health consumers to achieve the best possible outcomes (Harada et al., 2021). Culturally safe mental health nurses are encouraged to consider how their cultural biases could impact mental health consumers; and develop ways to respectfully engage with these consumers on their recovery journey (Health Quality & Safety Commission New Zealand, 2021). Practice that is culturally safe seeks to overcome the unequal power relations that are evident in health settings and perpetuate inequalities (Rheault et al., 2021; Richardson, 2021).