Providing culturally safe cancer survivorship care with Indigenous communities: study protocol for an integrated knowledge translation study

Background Cancer among Indigenous people is increasing faster than overall Canadian rates. Lack of survivorship support, including screening and follow-up for recurrences, contributes to poor health outcomes and low 5-year survival rates. Historical trauma from colonization and lack of culturally safe and responsive healthcare has negatively affected Indigenous peoples’ access to survivorship supports. Nurses are typically the sole practitioners of health services in rural and remote Indigenous communities and can enhance the development, implementation, and delivery of culturally safe survivorship supports. However, the implementation of culturally safe healthcare in Indigenous communities is not well developed. This is the third study in a larger program of research with an overarching goal to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes with Indigenous people in Canada. In this study, we will field test nurses’ implementation of cancer survivorship care with Indigenous people in Ontario, Canada.