Sámi Healthcare Staff Experiences of Encounters with Sámi Patients and Their Expectations for Non-Sámi Healthcare Staff
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Method
2.1. Design
2.2. Participants and Sampling Procedure
2.3. Focus Group Interviews and Individual Interviews
2.4. Data Analysis
2.5. Ethical Considerations and Roles in the Research Team
3. Findings
3.1. Various Expectations for Non-Sámi Healthcare Staff
3.1.1. Knowledge About Sámi Cultures and Language
“…one of my colleagues who lives in an area where there’s reindeer herding asked me, ‘Where are the reindeer during the winter? Are they in barns?’ That question tells you quite a bit. So why should she relate to a Sámi patient any differently? She doesn’t have any background knowledge”.
“It’s not the patient’s responsibility to talk about their background. I think you [healthcare personnel] must know what your responsibility as healthcare personnel is”.
“…they nod and smile and are always grateful for everything, many Sámi patients do that, and then things can easily go wrong. And when you ask the patient, is it okay if I do this? And he says yes, or he doesn’t answer, so then you think it’s ok, but you must understand that communication is so different. He has so much respect for authorities like a doctor or nurse, so you must know that…//…Another thing is that you must see the family as a resource. And sometimes they want you to talk to their family instead of them as patients, and this can be a good idea, because you don’t necessarily get honest feedback from older patients”.
“For the older generations the Sámi language has great significance, so if you learn some Sámi words as non-Sámi healthcare personnel, that has great importance for them, because then you can use some simple words and greet them in Sámi”.
“There are some older Sámi that go back to their mother tongue if they get dementia, and if nobody has Sámi language skills then it is terrible. The non-Sámi healthcare staff must know what to do then”.
3.1.2. Knowledge and Respect for Diversities within Sámi Cultures
“Sámi culture is a lot, there’s diversity…//… You cannot learn something about Sámi culture and think it’s like that for every Sámi, because there are personalities and diversities within the Sámi community. You have to relate to Sámi people differently, because there’s variety between all patients”.
“It’s important that you have local knowledge, because that’s vital for each individual patient when they need help from us healthcare staff”.
“You must be aware of the lifestyle. Because if you start making dinner for a Sámi patient at one o’clock, maybe he doesn’t want dinner until nine o’clock. So, you must follow the rhythm of the person, we must ‘read people a bit’”.
“I: What do you think is most important in an encounter with a Sámi patient?Participant 1: ‘…you must be open and have respect for our differences and that there are different cultures, and we must try to meet the patients’ needs. But we also must see that even if we have the same culture, we’re individuals and Sámi patients differ as well.’Participant 2: ‘I do agree. Respect. It’s basic, you must have respect for the people you meet, because we can be different. And I think if you have respect for others, and you have that in the back of your mind, then I think you can achieve a lot’”.
3.2. More Authentic Encounters When Having the Same Background
3.2.1. Just Knowing Who Is Sámi
“I worked at a nursing home in X, and there was a patient on the second floor I noticed without being able to say why. I saw that he had a bag of coffee hanging on his cupboard door, so I started talking about that bag, about what it was. Then he asked, are you a Sámi? Yes, I said. Then he told me about the evacuation from Finnmark and that he had to move. He said nothing about being Sámi, but he said he knew a word in Sámi and it was “eadni” (North Sámi for mother) and then he started to cry. The tears rolled down his cheeks when he said that, and it was something he had repressed and didn’t want to talk about. But he opened up a little bit when I said I was Sámi. And he said to me, you shouldn’t talk about being Sámi. Although he did not want to admit it, there was no doubt that he was Sámi. It was kind of funny, just that little bag of coffee that opened up the conversation”.
“It’s hard to explain, but you just know when I meet patients that are Sámi…//… There was a family with a severely ill child, and the doctor explained to the family, saying: “Do you understand?” They all nodded. Then I saw that the old grandmother left the room, she couldn’t cope with being there. Then I thought, she hasn’t understood a thing the doctor has said. I followed her, and I sat down with her and then I greeted her in Sámi, and I asked her, “Did you understand?” She said, “No.” And then I spent some time with her. Because then she knew who I was, and we got a different connection. I cannot say why I knew she was Sámi, but I just knew”.
3.2.2. Feelings of Togetherness When Having the Same Background
“I very rarely meet a Sámi patient who doesn’t say anything about my being Sámi. It’s often something they point out very quickly, and they say, ‘You’re one of our own’. I can only tell this to you. I wouldn’t say this to anyone else because you understand…//…they have confidence in me. I see it’s sort of something you only experience when you’re from the same culture”.
“You have it ‘in your spine’. There’s something about these things you just know. You don’t have to explain, you don’t have to ask, you just know…//… He knows who I am, and where I come from, so that’s where much of the security comes from”.
“Many patients say: ‘It’s completely different when you come, you’re our people’. That’s because I get a different connection with them. Others [non-Sámi healthcare personnel] don’t understand and when they don’t understand, they don’t understand…//…They don’t understand spiritual things, feelings, suffering, habits and bad habits, clothes, and everything. It’s so good to be with your own…//… It’s such a natural connection. They are themselves and they feel good and it’s good for them when we who are Sámi come”.
“They’re very similar to Northern Sámi patients, but they have little experience of meeting Sámi healthcare personnel with expertise in Sámi language and culture, so they’re very relieved when they meet someone with Sámi cultural and language expertise. And I can see they relax more, patients that I haven’t met before and don’t even know who I am…//…they trust me completely differently (when they meet me as a Sámi healthcare professional)”.
4. Discussion
5. Methodological Considerations
6. Conclusion and Implications for Practice
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Public Involvement Statement
Guidelines and Standards Statement
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Various expectations for non-Sámi healthcare staff | Knowledge about Sámi culture and language |
Knowledge and respect for diversities within Sámi cultures | |
More authentic encounters when having the same background | Just knowing who is Sámi |
Feelings of togetherness when having the same background |
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Mentsen Ness, T.; Mehus, G. Sámi Healthcare Staff Experiences of Encounters with Sámi Patients and Their Expectations for Non-Sámi Healthcare Staff. Nurs. Rep. 2024, 14, 2719-2732. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep14040201
Mentsen Ness T, Mehus G. Sámi Healthcare Staff Experiences of Encounters with Sámi Patients and Their Expectations for Non-Sámi Healthcare Staff. Nursing Reports. 2024; 14(4):2719-2732. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep14040201
Chicago/Turabian StyleMentsen Ness, Tove, and Grete Mehus. 2024. "Sámi Healthcare Staff Experiences of Encounters with Sámi Patients and Their Expectations for Non-Sámi Healthcare Staff" Nursing Reports 14, no. 4: 2719-2732. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep14040201