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

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.

Advancing health promotion in rural and remote Australia: Strategies for change

“…7,21 • Provide health promotion programs and services as close to home/Country as possible 22 • Ensure health promotion approaches align with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concepts of health and well-being, where relevant. [23][24] • Invest in the capacity building of the local health workforce (including education and training pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), and innovative and flexible workforce models, to ensure health promotion programs and services are delivered by people known and trusted by the communities in which they serve; and can do so in a respectful, meaningful and culturally responsive way. 8 • Involve local stakeholders in the co-design of place-based health promotion and community development responses that acknowledge and respond to the heterogeneity between, and unique needs of, each rural and remote community.…”

Exploring the barriers and facilitators to accessing and utilising mental health services in regional, rural, and remote Australia: A scoping review protocol

“…One review with a global scope specifically focussed on attitudinal barriers and identified four themes-stoicism, stigma, distrust, and meaning-which impacted help-seeking in individuals who reside in rural Australia, Canada, and the United States of America [30]. Other reviews on related topics have exclusively focussed on the mental health issues and/or burden of Australian farming communities [31], as well as adolescent [32], at-risk [33], male [34], and Indigenous populations [35,36]. Some reviews have explored the delivery of services and workforce issues [37], or trends in Australian rural mental health research [38].…”

Understanding the Nexus Between Alcohol Consumption, Social and Emotional Well-Being, and Higher Education Outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Males in Australia

“…This reinforces the need to examine the intersectionality between the health and higher education nexus in greater detail and its contribution toward improving the health-higher education outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males.Many Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organizations have been attempting to address these concerns through the planning and delivery of social and emotional well-being programs and services that are built from, and resonate with, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems tied to concepts of kinship, country, and cultural identity. 68,69 Program responses have increasingly involved a strengths-based approach focusing on community connectedness, strengthening the individual and family, as well as culturally based programs. 70 However, there are only a few programs that are specifically designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males.…”