New Books Network Culturally Safe Healthcare: Addressing Racism and Rebuilding Trust with guest Dr Shingisai Chando
Apr 9, 2026
Dr Shingisai Chando, a Research Fellow at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child health. She examines what cultural safety in healthcare really means. Short takes on racism in workplaces, why trust and belonging matter, the limits of tokenism, and the need for place-based, community-led responses.
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Episode notes
Cultural Competence Often Means Assimilation
- Cultural competence training often becomes assimilation focused rather than mutual understanding.
- Shingisai Chando describes a Dallas hospital orientation that taught Filipino nurses to adapt to dominant US culture after two brief sessions.
Family Legacy Led To Community-First Perspective
- Shingisai's family legacy shaped her community-first approach to health and education.
- She recounts grandparents who mobilised communities to make bricks, build a school, and teach without pay to improve access.
Racism Conversations Keep Repeating The Same Demands
- Conversations about racism in Australian health settings repeat decades-old themes without substantial change.
- Shingisai notes the same demands from First Nations and migrant staff have persisted since the 1960s.
