scholarly journals Ngaa-bi-nya Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program evaluation framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Williams
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
Cultural Leadership ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Torres Strait Islander Health

The Ngaa-bi-nya framework presented here is a practical guide for the evaluation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and social programs. It has a range of prompts to stimulate thinking about critical success factors in programs relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s lives. Ngaa-bi-nya was designed from an Aboriginal practitioner-scholar standpoint and was informed by the holistic concept of Aboriginal health, case studies with Aboriginal-led social and emotional well-being programs, human rights instruments, and the work of Stufflebeam. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and social programs have been described as suffering from a lack of evaluation. Ngaa-bi-nya is one of the few tools developed specifically to reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ contexts. It prompts the user to take into account the historical, policy, and social landscape of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s lives, existing and emerging cultural leadership, and informal caregiving that supports programs. Ngaa-bi-nya’s prompts across four domains—landscape factors, resources, ways of working, and learnings—provide a structure through which to generate insights necessary for the future development of culturally relevant, effective, translatable, and sustainable programs required for Australia’s growing and diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

Recent developments in suicide prevention among the Indigenous peoples of Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pat Dudgeon ◽  
Christopher Holland
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Torres Strait

Objectives: Suicide is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter ‘Indigenous’) population health issue. Over 2015–2016, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Project (ATSISPEP) aimed to identify success factors in Indigenous suicide prevention. Conclusions: For non-Indigenous practitioners working with indigenous clients at risk of suicide, ATSISPEP identified important considerations to make treatment more effective. The start is acknowledging the differences in the historical, cultural, political, social and economic experiences of Indigenous peoples, and their greater exposure to trauma, psychological distress and risks to mental health. These mental health difficulties are specific and more prevalent amongst Indigenous peoples and communities due to the ongoing impacts of colonisation in Australia including a range of social determinants impacting on the well-being of Indigenous peoples today. Working effectively with Indigenous clients also includes being able to establish culturally safe work environments, and the ability of non-Indigenous practitioners to work in a culturally competent and trauma-informed manner. There are also considerations regarding time protocols and client follow-up. Further, postvention responses might be required. Supporting selective suicide prevention activity among younger people (and other groups at increased risk) and community-level work is an important complement to working with Indigenous individuals at risk of suicide.

The Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health: An Operational Rationale and Some Reflections on Progress so far

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Giles ◽  
Merridy Malin ◽  
Peter Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Clinical Research ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Health Council ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Research Excellence ◽  
Torres Strait Islander Health

The Centre of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE) in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health was established in late 2003 through a major National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant involving collaboration between the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA), Flinders University, and Aboriginal Health Services. Our foundation research communities are the Aboriginal communities served by these Aboriginal Health Services in the Spencer Gulf / Eyre Peninsula region. In recent years a number of collaborative research programs involving chronic illness management, self-management and coordinated care have been implemented in these communities and this work is the basis of the initial CCRE activities. Key objectives of the CCRE are to improve the health status of Indigenous people through conducting relevant and meaningful Aboriginal controlled health research, providing formal training for Indigenous health researchers and developing innovative approaches to health care that can be readily translated and applied to support communities. The inclusion, empowerment and engagement of Indigenous people in the process of managing community health represent tangible strategies for achieving more equitable health outcomes for Aboriginal people. This paper outlines the CCRE operational rationale and presents early activities and outcomes across the three strategic areas of CCRE operations: research, education and training, and translation. Some critical reflections are offered on the progress and experience of the CCRE thus far. A common obstacle this CCRE has encountered is that the limited (especially staff) resources available to the Aboriginal Health Services with which we are collaborating make it difficult for them to engage with and progress the projects we are pursuing.

scholarly journals Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Information: Progress, Pitfalls, and Prospects

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 10274
Author(s):  
Ian Ring ◽  
Kalinda Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Data Governance ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Social And Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Torres Strait Islander Health

Despite significant developments in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health information over the last 25 years, many challenges remain. There are still uncertainties about the accuracy of estimates of the summary measure of life expectancy, and methods to estimate changes in life expectancy over time are unreliable because of changing patterns of identification. Far too little use is made of the wealth of information that is available, and formal systems for systematically using that information are often vestigial to non-existent. Available information has focussed largely on traditional biomedical topics and too little on access to, expenditure on, and availability of services required to improve health outcomes, and on the underpinning issues of social and emotional wellbeing. It is of concern that statistical artefacts may have been misrepresented as indicating real progress in key health indices. Challenges and opportunities for the future include improving the accuracy of estimation of life expectancy, provision of community level data, information on the availability and effectiveness of health services, measurement of the underpinning issues of racism, culture and social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB), enhancing the interoperability of data systems, and capacity building and mechanisms for Indigenous data governance. There is little point in having information unless it is used, and formal mechanisms for making full use of information in a proper policy/planning cycle are urgently required.

scholarly journals Participatory community singing program to enhance quality of life and social and emotional well-being in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with chronic diseases

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Sun ◽  
Nicholas Buys
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Community Singing

AbstractThe objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a 12-month community singing program on quality of life (QoL) using survey methods.We prospectively collected data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic diseases involved in a participatory community singing program. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a chronic disease and an average age of 51 years (range, 18–85 years) self-selected to participate in the singing group (n=45), which included a weekly singing rehearsal and a monthly performance. There were 27 people in the control group. We compared the intervention and control groups by evaluating the QoL, social and emotional well-being, health behaviors, social isolation, and loneliness at a baseline and at 12 months.At 12 months, those who participated in the singing program showed a significant increase in QoL, reduced stress, and a significant reduction in social isolation and loneliness compared with patients in the control group.The community singing program may enhance social and emotional well-being and QoL in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic diseases, and the singing program is a viable health promotion intervention program for this population.

How the Social Determinants of Indigenous Health became Policy Reality for Australia's National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATTHEW FISHER ◽  
SAMANTHA BATTAMS ◽  
DENNIS MCDERMOTT ◽  
FRAN BAUM ◽  
COLIN MACDOUGALL
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Advocacy Coalition ◽  
Health Networks ◽  
Policy Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Torres Strait Islander Health

AbstractThe paper analyses the policy process which enabled the successful adoption of Australia's National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023 (NATSIHP), which is grounded in an understanding of the Social Determinants of Indigenous Health (SDIH). Ten interviews were conducted with key policy actors directly involved in its development. The theories we used to analyse qualitative data were the Advocacy Coalition Framework, the Multiple Streams Approach, policy framing and critical constructionism. We used a complementary approach to policy analysis. The NATSIHP acknowledges the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter, Aboriginal) culture and the health effects of racism, and explicitly adopts a human-rights-based approach. This was enabled by a coalition campaigning to ‘Close the Gap’ (CTG) in health status between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. The CTG campaign, and key Aboriginal health networks associated with it, operated as an effective advocacy coalition, and policy entrepreneurs emerged to lead the policy agenda. Thus, Aboriginal health networks were able to successfully contest conventional problem conceptions and policy framings offered by government policy actors and drive a paradigm shift for Aboriginal health to place SDIH at the centre of the NATSIHP policy. Implications of this research for policy theory and for other policy environments are considered along with suggestions for future research.

Using participatory action research to prevent suicide in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele Cox ◽  
Pat Dudgeon ◽  
Christopher Holland ◽  
Kerrie Kelly ◽  
Clair Scrine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
The Social ◽  
Torres Strait

The National Empowerment Project is an innovative Aboriginal-led community empowerment project that has worked with eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia over the period 2012–13. The aim of the Project was to develop, deliver and evaluate a program to: (1) promote positive social and emotional well-being to increase resilience and reduce the high reported rates of psychological distress and suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and (2) empower communities to take action to address the social determinants that contribute to psychological distress, suicide and self-harm. Using a participatory action research approach, the communities were supported to identify the risk factors challenging individuals, families and communities, as well as strategies to strengthen protective factors against these challenges. Data gathered during Stage 1 were used to develop a 12-month program to promote social and emotional well-being and build resilience within each community. A common framework, based on the social and emotional well-being concept, was used to support each community to target community-identified protective factors and strategies to strengthen individual, family and community social and emotional well-being. Strengthening the role of culture is critical to this approach and marks an important difference between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous mental health promotion and prevention activities, including suicide prevention. It has significant implications for policy makers and service providers and is showing positive impact through the translation of research into practice, for example through the development of a locally run empowerment program that aims to address the social determinants of health and their ongoing negative impact on individuals, families and communities. It also provides a framework in which to develop and strengthen culture, connectedness and foster self-determination, through better-informed policy based on community-level holistic responses and solutions as opposed to an exclusive focus on single-issue deficit approaches.

Towards culturally appropriate assessment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional well-being

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 626-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sivasankaran Balaratnasingam ◽  
Lynette Anderson ◽  
Aleksandar Janca ◽  
Jason Lee
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Torres Strait

scholarly journals Strengthening approaches to respond to the social and emotional well-being needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: the Cultural Pathways Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Brodie ◽  
Odette Pearson ◽  
Luke Cantley ◽  
Peita Cooper ◽  
Seth Westhead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
The Social ◽  
Torres Strait

Abstract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander holistic health represents the interconnection of social, emotional, spiritual and cultural factors on health and well-being. Social factors (education, employment, housing, transport, food and financial security) are internationally described and recognised as the social determinants of health. The social determinants of health are estimated to contribute to 34% of the overall burden of disease experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Primary health care services currently ‘do what it takes’ to address social and emotional well-being needs, including the social determinants of health, and require culturally relevant tools and processes for implementing coordinated and holistic responses. Drawing upon a research-setting pilot program, this manuscript outlines key elements encapsulating a strengths-based approach aimed at addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander holistic social and emotional well-being. The Cultural Pathways Program is a response to community identified needs, designed and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and informed by holistic views of health. The program aims to identify holistic needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the starting point to act on the social determinants of health. Facilitators implement strengths-based practice to identify social and cultural needs (e.g. cultural and community connection, food and financial security, housing, mental health, transport), engage in a goal setting process and broker connections with social and health services. An integrated culturally appropriate clinical supervision model enhances delivery of the program through reflective practice and shared decision making. These embedded approaches enable continuous review and improvement from a program and participant perspective. A developmental evaluation underpins program implementation and the proposed culturally relevant elements could be further tailored for delivery within primary health care services as part of routine care to strengthen systematic identification and response to social and emotional well-being needs.

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