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VAN HERK KA, SMITH D and ANDREW C. Nursing Inquiry 2011; : 29-39 An intersectionality paradigm is a means by which nurses can attend to issues of oppression and privilege within their practice and profession. Intersectionality is introduced as an essential theory to help debunk the hegemony of the 'white, middle class' perspective that often directs nursing research, practice, and education. The values and benefits of using an intersectionality paradigm in nursing are shown through recent research done with Aboriginal women. These findings contribute to an increased understanding of the importance and necessity of attending to the power relations that dominate nursing care encounters and influence the way nurses provide care. By acknowledging and responding to the presence of privilege and oppression and the associated power dynamics within the therapeutic encounter, nursing can strive further in helping to alleviate social injustices and health disparities that arise from unequal power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Aboriginal children living in Canadian cities experience high levels of perinatal and infant health challenges. Despite efforts to reduce inequities in early childhood development, numerous urban Aboriginal families have poor access to preventive care. In this paper, we challenge conventional notions of access and use a postcolonial population health perspective to explain how access to preventive care for Aboriginal families is influenced by safety and responsiveness within care experiences. We explore an approach to care that addresses the safety of care spaces and care places. The potential of this approach for improving access to preventive services for Aboriginal families may be of considerable interest to urban preventive health policy or health system managers., (Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)