Finding Space and Place: Using Narrative and Imagery to Support Successful Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Enabling Programs

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clair Andersen ◽  
Ann Edwards ◽  
Brigette Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Space And Place ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Whole Person ◽  
Low Expectations ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
The University

‘Riawunna’ is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘a place of learning’ for Aboriginal people, from entry level to tertiary studies, at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) and operates on Hobart, Launceston and Burnie campuses. The Riawunna Centre was established to encourage Aboriginal people to aspire to higher levels of education, and to support them to be successful in their chosen course of study. One strategy developed to support the participation, retention and success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is the Murina program. During the four year period between 2010 and 2013 every student at UTAS who graduated from the Murina program and chosen to enrol in undergraduate studies has been successful in completing their courses. One of the tools used to achieve this result is the strong use of narrative and images in our teaching. This whole-person approach to teaching resonates culturally with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but is also applicable to any student of any culture, especially those who come to university tentatively and with low expectations of what they can achieve.

Considering the Impact of Social Media on Contemporary Improvement of Australian Aboriginal Health: Scoping Review (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy Walker ◽  
Claire Palermo ◽  
Karen Klassen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Community Control ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Torres Strait

BACKGROUND Social media may have a significant role in influencing the present and future health implications among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, yet there has been no review of the role of social media in improving health. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the extent of health initiatives using social media that aimed to improve the health of Australian Aboriginal communities. METHODS A scoping review was conducted by systematically searching databases CINAHL Plus; PubMed; Scopus; Web of Science, and Ovid MEDLINE in June 2017 using the terms and their synonyms “Aboriginal” and “Social media.” In addition, reference lists of included studies and the Indigenous HealthInfonet gray literature were searched. Key information about the social media intervention and its impacts on health were extracted and data synthesized using narrative summaries. RESULTS Five papers met inclusion criteria. All included studies were published in the past 5 years and involved urban, rural, and remote Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged 12-60 years. No studies reported objective impacts on health. Three papers found that social media provided greater space for sharing health messages in a 2-way exchange. The negative portrayal of Aboriginal people and negative health impacts of social media were described in 2 papers. CONCLUSIONS Social media may be a useful strategy to provide health messages and sharing of content among Aboriginal people, but objective impacts on health remain unknown. More research is necessary on social media as a way to connect, communicate, and improve Aboriginal health with particular emphasis on community control, self-empowerment, and decolonization.

Emergency Department Presentations of Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Costa ◽  
Mary Sullivan ◽  
Rae Walker ◽  
Kerin M Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Indigenous Status ◽  
Routinely Collected Data ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Minimum Dataset ◽  
Respiratory Conditions

This paper explains how routinely collected data can be used to examine the emergency department attendances of Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The data reported in the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD) for the 2006/2007 financial year were analysed. The presentations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal people were compared in terms of age, gender, hospital location (metropolitan and rural) and presenting condition. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were found to attend the emergency department 1.8 times more often than non-Aboriginal people. While the emergency department presentation rates of metropolitan Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal people were similar, rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people presented to the emergency department 2.3 times more often than non-Aboriginal people. The injuries or poisonings, respiratory conditions and mental disorders presentation rates of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal population were compared. No previous studies have assessed the accuracy of the Indigenous status and diagnosis fields in the VEMD; therefore the quality of this data is unknown.

Another Country: Non-Aboriginal Tertiary Students' Perceptions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
English Language ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Indigenous Perspectives ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

Even though Aboriginal people are from Australia it does not mean they speak the English language (non-Aboriginal tertiary student).Jo Lampert's (1996) research discussed in her articleIndigenous Australian perspectives in teaching at the University of Queenslandspeaks volumes about the challenges of attempting to make university curricula inclusive of Indigenous Australian perspectives. She documents the often ambivalent attitudes of academics towards opening up the curriculum to Indigenous Australians. The research discussed here seeks to add to our understanding of this process, focussing this time on the response of students to the introduction of Australian Indigenous perspectives into a single unit within a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching program. The impetus to reflect on the process came with the shock of reading student papers, written at the end of the unit, and finding that effective communication about the educational needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples did not seem to have taken place, making a closer analysis of the teaching/learning process imperative. This investigation will address questions abouthowuniversities can communicate effectively about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Student Teacher Perspectives: Teacher Attitudes Towards Aboriginal Children

1994 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Eibeck
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Attitudes ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Teacher Perspectives ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Aboriginal Children

Given the opportunity to write my views about education to this journal, I have chosen a topic that is close to me and which I have experienced first hand. I have chosen the teaching profession so that I can help my people gain the opportunity to reach their full potential. However, I feel that most non-Aboriginal teachers are not fully aware of the problems that confront Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people in schooling.

scholarly journals In the pursuit of equity: COVID-19, data and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Kalinda Griffiths ◽  
Ian Ring ◽  
Richard Madden ◽  
Lisa Jackson Pulver
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Success Story ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Pandemic Planning ◽  
The Future ◽  
Torres Strait

Since March 2020 in Australia, there has been decisive national, and state and territory policy as well as community led action involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as information about COVID-19 arose. This has resulted in, what could only be framed as a success story in self-determination. However, there continues to be issues with the quality of data used for the surveillance and reporting of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people during the pandemic. This article discusses some of the important events in pandemic planning regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and how this relates to surveillance and monitoring in the emerging and ongoing threat of COVID-19 within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The authors also identify some of the data considerations required in the future to monitor and address public health.

scholarly journals A scoping review about social and emotional wellbeing programs and services targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in Australia: understanding the principles guiding promising practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Himanshu Gupta ◽  
Noemi Tari-Keresztes ◽  
Donna Stephens ◽  
James A. Smith ◽  
Emrhan Sultan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Program Planning ◽  
Promising Practices ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Social And Emotional Wellbeing

Abstract Background Multiple culturally-oriented programs, services, and frameworks have emerged in recent decades to support the social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) people in Australia. Although there are some common elements, principles, and methods, few attempts have been made to integrate them into a set of guidelines for policy and practice settings. This review aims to identify key practices adopted by programs and services that align with the principles of the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing 2017–2023. Methods A comprehensive review of electronic databases and organisational websites was conducted to retrieve studies of relevance. Twenty-seven publications were included in the review. Next, we identified promising practices through a collaborative review process. We then used the principles articulated in the above-mentioned framework as the basis to complete a framework analysis. This enabled us to explore the alignment between current scholarship about SEWB programs and services with respect to the principles of the framework. Results We found there was a strong alignment, with selected principles being effectively incorporated into most SEWB program and service delivery contexts. However, only one study incorporated all nine principles, using them as conceptual framework. Additionally, ‘capacity building’, ‘individual skill development’, and ‘development of maladaptive coping mechanisms’ were identified as common factors in SEWB program planning and delivery for Aboriginal people. Conclusion We argue the selective application of nationally agreed principles in SEWB programs and services, alongside a paucity of scholarship relating to promising practices in young people-oriented SEWB programs and services, are two areas that need the urgent attention of commissioners and service providers tasked with funding, planning, and implementing SEWB programs and services for Aboriginal people. Embedding robust participatory action research and evaluation approaches into the design of such services and programs will help to build the necessary evidence-base to achieve improved SEWB health outcomes among Aboriginal people, particularly young people with severe and complex mental health needs.

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