Literature Review: Cultural Safety in Remote Telehealth Delivery
Theoretical conceptualisations of remote digital health diverge significantly between structural cultural safety models and pragmatic service-feasibility frameworks. On one hand, scholars examining First Nations healthcare position digital platforms as instruments for decolonising clinical access and fostering relational engagement. According to recent scoping research (pubmed-36911983, 2024), remote telehealth implementation requires explicit grounding in cultural safety and the deliberate cultivation of therapeutic relationships to mitigate persistent health disparities among Indigenous populations across Australia and international jurisdictions. This theoretical perspective maintains that technical connectivity alone cannot resolve systemic inequities unless clinical encounters actively validate Indigenous ways of knowing and uphold culturally safe practice. Conversely, alternative models conceptualise virtual care through institutional delivery metrics, focusing on service acceptability and operational viability. Evidence synthesised in healthcare delivery studies (pubmed-35640452, 2022) emphasizes evaluating feasibility, satisfaction, and safety parameters for both First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse communities, framing telehealth primarily as an adaptable alternative service modality during periods of community restriction. While one framework (pubmed-36911983, 2024) privileges transformative relational dynamics and cultural safety as prerequisites for mitigating structural disparities, the pragmatic model (pubmed-35640452, 2022) adopts an evaluative approach centred on user satisfaction and operational implementation across heterogeneous demographic cohorts. Synthesising these complementary yet distinct theoretical paradigms demonstrates that effective remote telehealth delivery must transcend mechanical indicators of feasibility by embedding cultural safety directly into virtual care architecture, thereby ensuring that remote consultations address both operational standards and Indigenous health priorities.