Long journeys: Healthcare providers' perspectives about promoting equity and community-based palliative care for rural, remote, and indigenous communities in northern British Columbia

Inequitable access to palliative care in Canada is a pressing issue. People with life-limiting illnesses in rural and remote northern and Indigenous geographies in British Columbia (BC) face ethically problematic barriers to receiving palliative care. Palliative approaches that are equity-oriented and community-based bring significant improvements to the healthcare system and to people's quality of life. The purpose of this qualitative study was to find ways to promote health equity and community-based palliative care. This research is informed by action-oriented, anti-colonial, and critical Indigenous methodologies. As perspectives of frontline healthcare workers offer transformative insights, palliative care providers working in northern BC were interviewed, and, from their interviews, three main themes emerged. These were (1) Support Primary Palliative Care, (2) earlier and inclusive Integration of Palliative care, and (3) Culturally Safe Palliative Care. The implications of these findings are situated at the intersection of cultural safety, public health, and health promotion.