Clinicians’ assumptions about Sami culture and experienceproviding mental health services to Indigenous patients inNorway

摘要

This qualitative study explores Sami and non-Sami clinicians’ assumptionsabout Sami culture and their experiences in providing mental healthservices to Sami patients. The aim is to better understand and improvethe ways in which culture is incorporated into mental health servicesin practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20clinicians in mental health outpatient clinics in the northern Samiarea in Troms and Finnmark County in Norway. The findings show thatclinicians’ conceptualizations of culture influence how they takecultural considerations about their Sami patients into account. Tobetter integrate culture into clinical practice, the cultures of bothpatient and clinician, as well as of mental health care itself, needto be assessed. Finally, the findings indicate a lack of professionalteam discussions about the role of Sami culture in clinicalpractice.