Table 3.

Recommendations for supporting cultural safety in research with Native American communities.

Native American Communities

• Increase research literacy and capacity among community members

• Foster community/tribal governance procedures to promote cultural safety in research

• Promote collaboration among Native American communities locally and nationally, and with Indigenous communities internationally

Nursing and Midwifery

• Appreciate antecedent factors that contribute to structural racism, marginalisation, death, and suffering, and how these factors intersect in research with Native American communities

• Promote and support Native American health care professionals and community health workers who are of the community in research activities involving Native American communities, given their potential and credibility to be a bridge and help lead this important work

• Foster networking and collaboration in research, while drawing increased emphasis on integration of Native American cultural knowledge.

Researchers

• Work with tribal/community advisory boards to ensure culturally safe research methods and engagement

• Recognise collective consent, in the form of a tribal resolution, may be required to authorise research within some tribal jurisdictions

• Seek human subjects review from tribal Institutional Review Boards, even though it may not be part of funding requirements

• Standardise reporting of studies involving Native American communities to assist in developing an evidence base (e.g. identification of community members and Native American researchers involved in the research, if authorised by community partners)

Research Enterprise (e.g. academic institutions, funding agencies)

• Understand and acknowledge the importance of cultural safety and tribal sovereignty in research with Native American communities

• Acknowledge that tribes have ownership over data within tribal jurisdictions

• Include tribal research ethics training in all ethics trainings for IRBs, including those in Native American and non-Native American communities

• Support accountable and sustainable engagement in research with Native American communities via considerations in funding mechanisms, evaluation frameworks, and impact assessments (e.g. longer timelines, embedded planning periods)

• Promote cultural safety within research with Native American communities in funding announcements and evaluate implementation of such practices as part of project governance