Digital Commons Network^™

Which Way From Here? An Exploration Of Local Perspectives On Strengths, Needs And Goals In The Aurukun Community, Jack R. Menges, Marie L. Caltabiano, Alan Clough, Tim White

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Aurukun is a small Aboriginal community located in remote Cape York, Far North Queensland. This study explores local perspectives on the goals, strengths and areas of need in the community, and perceptions of the role of a man in Aurukun. Seventeen individuals from the Aurukun community were informally interviewed. The sample comprised eight community elders (four female, four male) and nine community members (six male, three female). A reference group comprising local community members and elders guided the research project. Results indicated that the communities’ main strength was their connection to culture, the areas most needing improvement were violence, alcohol …

Exploring The Experiences Of The Consent Process For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People Having Cardiac Surgery And Participating In Medical Research: A Study Protocol, Julieann Coombes, Keziah Bennett-Brook, Kate Hunter, Tamara Mackean, Edward Litton, Jacquita S. Affandi, Courtney Ryder, Bobby Porykali, Brea Grant, Kenneth Yakubu, Colin Garlett, Camila A. Kairuz Santos

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Background: Gaining informed consent is a critical step before any medical procedure, and before taking part in medical research. Cultural differences in concepts of health and healing, communication, language, and racism, can play a part in forming barriers to gaining informed consent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a lack of informed consent can worsen distrust and contribute to continuing health disparities. This protocol describes a study aimed at providing a better understanding of informed consent experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people undergoing heart surgery and participating in research. This …

Aboriginal Men’S Business: A Literature Review Of Factors Affecting Aboriginal Men Accessing Sexual Health Services, Daniel Dawson, Daniel Mcdonough, Rachel Reilly, James A. Charles

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Introduction: Aboriginal men are relatively young, with a median age of 22 years, nearly half that of their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Aboriginal men also have the highest mortality rates and have the lowest life expectancy. Sexually Transmissible Infection (STI) rates are extremely overrepresented in lower socio-economic groups, including minority populations. STI rates among Aboriginal communities are significantly higher when compared to the non-Aboriginal population.

Aims: In the context of multiple factors impinging on the sexual health of Aboriginal men, we sought to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature for the purpose of developing a framework through which needs and actions …

What Works For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Men? A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Jack R. Menges, Marie L. Caltabiano, Alan Clough

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men experience significantly higher rates of suicide, trauma, alcohol related deaths and unemployment than other Australian men. Despite significant levels of government intervention, rates of family violence, unemployment and incarceration continue to increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. As a subset of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, there has been a lesser focus on how to meaningfully improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. This systematic review seeks to understand what interventions, programs and activities are successful in improving the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men …

Scoping The Potential Of A Noongar Re-Entry Peer Navigator Model, Jane Anderson

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

The Noongar people of the South West of Western Australia (WA) continue to seek self-determination and empowerment to ensure their families are able to meet cultural, economic and social needs. Their aspirations, however, are thwarted by a significant number of their members who are incarcerated and the adverse consequences of imprisonment on families. In the meantime, the WA prison system is yet to respond to the unique needs of Noongar prisoners transitioning out of the prison system. The article reviews the literature to develop the idea of a Noongar re-entry peer navigator (PN) model. In this model, select Noongar people …

Assessing The Validity Of A Culturally Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire For Use In Aboriginal Communities, David Tucker, Martyn Symons, Elaine Clifton, Margaret Ramirez, James P. Fitzpatrick, Roz Walker, Glenn Pearson, Michelle Gray, Gary Kirby, Nyanda Mcbride

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Alcohol related harms disproportionately affect Aboriginal people in Australia. Motives to drink have been identified as the most proximal factor to alcohol consumption.The aim of this study is to assess the validity of a culturally modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) (Cooper, 1994) with Aboriginal participants. The study was cross sectional, utilising data collected via face-to-face surveys with a sample of adult Aboriginal participants. A convenience sample of 135 Aboriginal men (n=41) and women (n=94) from the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, who had consumed alcohol in the preceding 12 months. The Culturally modified DMQ-R (CDMQ-R) developed in consultation with Aboriginal …

Culturally Safe And Integrated Primary Health Care: A Case Study Of Yerin Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Services’ Holistic Model, Julieann Coombes, Patricia Cullen, Keziah Bennett-Brook, Marlene Longbottom, Tamara Mackean, Belinda Field, Vickie Parry

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Objective

To understand the importance of culturally safe integrated primary health care for Aboriginal families in the Central Coast of New South Wales, where their social and emotional wellbeing is impacted through a range of health issues related to domestic and family violence.

Methods
An Indigenous methodology of yarning through conversational semi-structured interviews with seven primary health care workers at Yerin, an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) in New South Wales. Yarning sessions explored factors that enable and/or inhibit the provision of holistic and comprehensive trauma and culturally informed responses to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who experience …

Evaluating Patient Experience At A Novel Health Service For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Prisoners: A Pilot Study, Lachlan Arthur, Ana Herceg, Heidi Shukralla, Jason Payne, Julie Tongs Oam

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Background
The Winnunga Alexander Maconochie Centre Health and Wellbeing Service (AMCHWS) is the first prison health service operated by an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation in Australia. This pilot study developed and implemented a patient experience survey to evaluate the novel model of healthcare delivered by the Winnunga AMCHWS to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners.

Methods
Patients accessing the Winnunga AMCHWS between February and May 2020 were invited to participate in the study. Descriptive data were analysed and compiled for demographics, patient satisfaction, patient perception of care quality, cultural safety, and patient thoughts on the Winnunga AMCHWS.

Findings
Sixteen …

Examining The Associations Between Experiences Of Perceived Racism And Drug And Alcohol Use In Aboriginal Australians, Victoria Gentile, Adrian Carter, Laura Jobson

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Objective
This study aimed to explore the relationships between experiences of perceived racism, mental health and drug and alcohol use among Aboriginal Australians.

Method
Sixty-two Aboriginal Australians, ranging in age from 19-64 years (M_age = 33.71, SD = 12.47) and residing in Victoria completed an online questionnaire containing measures of perceived racism, alcohol use, substance use and mental health.

Results
First, 66% of the sample reported experiencing interpersonal racism, with the highest proportion of reported experiences occurring in health settings, educational/academic settings and by staff of government agencies. Second, perceived racism was significantly associated with poorer mental health …

Protocols For An Aboriginal-Led, Multi-Methods Study Of The Role Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health Workers, Practitioners And Liaison Officers In Quality Acute Health Care, Annabelle Wilson, Tamara Mackean, Liz Withall, Eileen M. Willis, Odette Pearson, Colleen Hayes, Kim O'Donnell, Janet Kelly, Kerry Taylor, Judith Dwyer, Elizabeth Bourke, Kate Hunter, Lorna Murakami-Gold, Rebecca Ivers, Fran Baum

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Objectives
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers/Practitioners and Liaison Officers play an important, often critical role providing advocacy and cultural and emotional support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. The main goals of this research are to explore i) how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers/Practitioners and Liaison Officers are integrated in the routine delivery of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in hospital, and ii) how the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers/Practitioners and Liaison Officers facilitates quality health outcomes.

Methods
This study is being conducted in three different hospitals using …

Health Website Evaluation - An Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Perspective: Assessing Quality And Cultrability Of Health Websites In A Covid-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review., Selma Kum Sing, Daniel Mcdonough, James Charles

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin

Introduction

Health Websites have been used to improve the health and wellbeing of people since the internet was widely available to the world’s populations. The development of websites by health practitioners, hospitals, and governments has continued to grow over the past 20 years. Due to the restriction of movement and gatherings for populations globally caused by Covid-19, there has been a reliance on health information being disseminated via health websites. However, there has been little investigation into the appropriateness of health websites for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Aim

Review literature on digital resources and evaluate health websites based …

Aboriginal Health Consumers Experiences Of An Aboriginal Health Curriculum Framework, Petah Atkinson, Marilyn Baird, Karen Adams

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin

Introduction

In settler colonised countries medical education is situated in colonist informed health systems. This form of colonisation is characterised by overt racism and contributes to the significant health inequities experienced by Indigenous peoples. Not surprisingly, medical accreditation bodies in these countries have mandated the curriculum include content relating to Indigenous peoples. However, what is absent is the Indigenous health consumer worldview of health care and their nuanced lived experience of the delivery of medical care.

Methods

Yarning methods, integral to Aboriginal peoples’ ways of understanding and learning, were utilised. A Yarning guide was constructed with Social Yarn and Research …

An Exploration Of Interventions For Healing Intergeneration Trauma To Develop Successful Healing Programs For Aboriginal Australians: A Literature Review, Alison J. Simpson, William Abur, James A. Charles

Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin

Introduction

Health outcomes and life expectancy of Indigenous people throughout the world are far poorer than non-Indigenous populations. Emerging evidence from research shows that many social issues which impact on Indigenous peoples globally is linked to trauma over generations. This review explores literature about Indigenous people from around the world to seek interventions which have been successful in healing intergenerational trauma.

Method

To identify interventions that have been successful in healing intergenerational trauma amongst Indigenous populations globally, a systematic search strategy was conducted using keywords and synonyms related to the topic. Peer reviewed academic literature was sourced from four …

Review Of Taboo, By Kim Scott, Picador-Australia, 2017, Rashida Murphy

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Kim Scott's Taboo is a story about beginnings and endings.This novel reminds the reader of the circularity of stories, and how those stories are shaped by intent and weighed by landscape. Scott speaks of dispossession, abuse, colonialism, addiction and racism in lyrical and melancholy prose. The men and women who walk through these pages are startlingly aware of their failings and equally forgiving of those failings in others. There are no quick fixes and the story vacillates between despair and hope. Yet this is not a grim story. The lucidity of its prose lifts it beyond the despair in its …

Effective Teaching Practices For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Students: A Review Of The Literature, Natalie J. Lloyd, Brian Ellis Lewthwaite, Barry Osborne, Helen J. Boon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents a review of the literature pertaining to the teacher actions that influence Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander student learning outcomes. This review investigates two foci: the identification of teacher actions influencing learning outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students and the methodological approach to how the influence of teacher behaviours on student learning has been determined. The literature review identifies that published literature in the effective teaching area is predominantly in the ‘good ideas’ category; that is assertions are made by authors with no research-based evidence for supporting such claims, especially through quantitative research which seeks …

The Context For Change: Reconceptualising The 3rs In Education For Indigenous Students, Elizabeth M. Jackson-Barrett

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract

In 2011, three years on from the Apology given by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd to the Stolen Generations and coupled with the Federal Governments agenda to ‘close the gap’ in education for Aboriginal students, perhaps it is time to retrospectively look at the issues and challenges that have moulded the terrain of Aboriginal education in Western Australia. It is clear that over the last 200 years there has been progress in improving the access of schooling for many Aboriginal students. However the retention and successful completion of compulsory schooling still remain at unacceptable levels. It is these current performance …