Denise Webb

Cultural safety curriculum in medical education: Does it work?

February 2025

Indigenous cultural safety curriculum is increasingly embraced by medical education and health care systems across Canada. This increasing acceptance of cultural safety curriculum coincides with growing public attention to anti-Indigenous racism in health care and the truth-telling efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada—namely Calls to Action #23 and #24—both of which point to the need to redress the adverse effects of colonization and ongoing colonialism on health care education and practice. Cultural safety curriculum in medical education: Does it work? examines if and how cultural safety curriculum in medical education works to influence the knowledge and practices of learners, particularly with respect to engaging with Indigenous patients and in what ways. The primary focus of this fact sheet is on the experiences of medical residents, but this resource also offers valuable insight from medical students and health professionals, as a means of filling knowledge gaps.

This fact sheet reviews academic literature, drawing from 22 evaluations and critiques of Indigenous cultural safety curriculum and training to provide insight into if and how cultural safety curriculum works. It also explores how cultural safety interventions are evaluated in the literature, emergent gaps from the review, and other considerations for future research.

View or download the fact sheet (PDF)