Aboriginal Health and the Interior Health Authority have launched a new podcast that focuses on indigenous health issues.

It’s called “Interior Voices” and it’s aimed at reaching out to Indigenous People in the area, as an effort to close some of the gaps they face with access to health care.

Kris Murray is a Practice Lead with Aboriginal Health and says the issues are not unique to the B.C. Interior.

“There are definitely health inequities that are experienced by the Aboriginal population across the country,” she said. “That could be anything from being attached to a physician and having regular access to appointments.”

“It could also be what the emergency department looks like in our access to emergency services, and what we can do to ensure that we have a more health equitable outcome.”

The podcast launched on January 8 with two episodes to date.

The first was mostly about introductions and what the podcast would be about. The second was about traditional territory acknowledgment and what that means.

As for how future episodes would go?

“We do have kind of the conversational aspect between the co-hosts (Vanessa Mitchell and Sheila Lewis) where we do just want to communicate some information,” Murray added. “It’s also a chance for us to invite guests.”

“So things like interviewing leadership within our organization, allies across our organization, as well as physicians who we work with on a regular basis and how they are working towards Aboriginal health as a key strategy.”

New episodes will be out every second Tuesday.