Equity-Oriented Narratives
The charting we do, the documentation that travels with a service user, the language we use - like service user, client, patient, peer, people with lived experience, experiential, etc. - all build a narrative about someone. These narratives can follow people and impact their access to health services and health equity. What does equity-oriented charting look like?
We invite Trauma- & Violence-Informed charting through need-to-know documentating, that is clear and factual, contextualizes trauma responses, and is strengths-based. Our names are incredibly meaningful. Getting names and pronouns right can have a huge impact on folx access to services, so using someone’s preferred pronouns is harm reduction. We invite harm reductive charting practices that do not out someone’s informal economic activities. We invite practices that name and honour a client’s Indigenous heritage, and reflect the client’s own language like, “hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking”, “Gitxsan matriach” or “proud Blackfoot”.
