Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Growth And Empowerment For Indigenous Australians In Substance Abuse Treatment, Stacey L. Berry, T. P. Crowe, F. P. Deane, M. Billingham, Y. Bhagerutty

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This paper describes psychosocial outcomes of an Indigenous residential substance abuse rehabilitation centre in Australia, examines the sensitivity to change of the new Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM), and explores the degree to which service users value cultural components of the treatment program. Participants were 57 Indigenous and 46 non-Indigenous male clients from Oolong House. Intake, 8-weeks, and 16-weeks (program completion) measures of Kessler 10 Psychological Distress Scale (K10), Drug Taking Confidence Questionnaire (DTCQ-8), and GEM were completed. The Treatment Component Evaluation (TCE) was completed at 16-weeks. There were significant improvements for participants, with a decrease in psychological distress and …

Preliminary Development And Content Validity Of A Measure Of Australian Aboriginal Cultural Engagement, Stacey L. Berry, Trevor P. Crowe, Frank P. Deane

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Objectives. Aboriginal people form one of the populations most in need of mental health and substance abuse services within Australia, although many services are not adequately sensitive to, or inclusive of, relevant aspects of Aboriginal culture in their programmes. The Aboriginal Cultural Engagement Survey (ACES) was developed with the objective of assessing the level of cultural engagement of Aboriginal clients. A measure of cultural engagement is an important step in establishing an association between culture and health benefits, so that future interventions may be designed which better meet the cultural needs of Aboriginal Australians within health services.

Design. The process …