Romani Women and Health: The Need for a Cultural Safety-Based Approach

Roma Religion: 1775 and 2018 Compared over Time

The objective of the present study was to compare the religiosity of the Roma in the 18th century with the present. In 1775 and 1776, Samuel Augustini ab Hortis detailed the way of life of the Roma community in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in his work "Von dem Heutigen Zustände, Sonderbaren Sitten und Lebensart, Wie Auch von Denen Übrigen Eigenschaften und Umständen der Zigeuner in Ungarn" (On the Contemporary Situation, Distinctive Manners and Way of Life, as Well as the Other Characteristics and Circumstances of Gypsies in Greater Hungary). A detailed content analysis of the part of his work dealing with religion was performed. Subsequently, in 2018, field research was conducted in the environment in which Samuel Augustini lived and worked. It involved six key informants, each representing a different municipality. Data collection was carried out over two periods: in the summer months of 2012-2013 and the winter period of 2018-2019. After the interviews with the key informants, more than 70 participants were included in semi-structured interviews through snowball sampling, and another 40 participants were included in two focus groups. The data was evaluated and content analysis was used to process the data. The findings confirm that both in the past and the present, the Roma community adopted the dominant religion of the host country. In the studied environments, the activities of the majority, present then and now in the Catholic Church, failed, and various other missionary movements, such as the Maranatha Mission, came to the fore. Membership in new religious movements resulted in social changes in marginalized Roma communities. However, they may not have only had positive effects. Various effects of their activities may be studied in the future.

Reflexive Practice as an Approach to Improve Healthcare Delivery for Indigenous Peoples: A Systematic Critical Synthesis and Exploration of the Cultural Safety Education Literature

Cultural safety is increasingly being taught in tertiary programmes of study for health professionals. Reflexivity is a key skill required to engage in culturally safe practice, however, there is currently limited literature examining how reflexivity is taught or assessed within cultural safety curricula. A systematic review of the literature up until November 2021 was conducted, examining educational interventions which aimed to produce culturally safe learners. Studies were limited to those with a focus on Indigenous health and delivered in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. A total of 46 documents describing 43 different educational interventions were identified. We found that definitions and conceptualisations of reflexivity varied considerably, resulting in a lack of conceptual clarity. Reflexive catalysts were the primary pedagogical approaches used, where objects, people, or Indigenous pedagogies provided a counterpoint to learners’ knowledges and experiences. Information regarding assessment methods was limited but indicates that the focus of existing programmes has been on changes in learner knowledge and attitudes rather than the ability to engage in reflexivity. The results demonstrate a need for greater conceptual clarity regarding reflexivity as it relates to cultural safety, and to develop methods of assessment that focus on process rather than outcomes.