Attention to four key principles can promote health outcomes from desert Aboriginal land management

Abstract

We identify four principles that can promote the prospects of health outcomes for desert Aboriginal people from livelihoods engaged with land management. The principles were derived inductively using a grounded theory approach, drawing on primary research that used qualitative and participatory methods, and from relevant literature and theoretical frameworks. International and Australian literature offers evidence that supports desert Aboriginal people’s view that their health depends on their relationship with their land. Engagement with land management can lead desert Aboriginal people to feel that their own actions are consistent with their own sense of the right and proper way for them to behave towards land, family and community. This increased ‘sense of control’ impacts positively on health by moderating the impact of sustained stress from health risk factors in the environment and lifestyle. The four principles focus on underlying characteristics of Aboriginal land management that are important to promoting this increased ‘sense of control’: (1) Aboriginal land management governance recognises and respects Aboriginal custom and tradition, and is adaptive; (2) learning is embraced as a life-long process; (3) relationships are recognised as very important; and (4) partnerships give priority to doing things that all parties agree are important. These principles are presented as hypotheses that warrant further development and testing. While they do not account specifically for the impact of lifestyle and environmental factors on health, we expect that the increased sense of control that desert Aboriginal people are likely to develop when involved in Aboriginal land management that applies these principles will moderate the impact of such factors on their health. The principles offer a starting point for further development of criteria and standards for good practice in Aboriginal land management, potentially including an environmental certification scheme that integrates social and environmental outcomes.

Community care for Indigenous older people: An update

“…Increasing a 'sense of control', which is critical to health and well-being as well as to sustainable service delivery, can be promoted by incorporating Aboriginal cultural perspectives, embracing the concept of lifelong learning, acknowledging the importance of relationships and working on a partnership basis [27]. The implications for community aged care practice are that services need to be established in a genuine partnership with local communities, incorporate culture into the design and operation of the service, and involve community members in an ongoing and meaningful capacity [27], as has clearly been achieved in some aged care models [14,17].…”

“…The implications for community aged care practice are that services need to be established in a genuine partnership with local communities, incorporate culture into the design and operation of the service, and involve community members in an ongoing and meaningful capacity [27], as has clearly been achieved in some aged care models [14,17]. The use of culturally appropriate clinical pathways and care plans is also essential and possible with the availability, and continued development, of relevant and valid clinical tools and approaches.…”

Maintaining customary harvesting of freshwater resources: sustainable Indigenous livelihoods in the floodplains of northern Australia

“…Engaging in customary practices such as fishing are crucial parts of maintaining strong family and social networks (e.g. Toussaint 2014) and has been identified with positive outcomes for Indigenous health and well being (Burgess et al 2005;Garnett et al 2009;Davies et al 2011;Biddle and Swee 2012;Maclean et al 2013). These benefits are likely to have a substantial feedback effect in terms of improving other human and social capitals associated with improved social engagement.…”

Identifying and categorizing cobenefits in state-supported Australian indigenous environmental management programs: international research implications

“…The findings of this review are broadly consistent with the empirical evidence generated from the "Healthy Country, Healthy People" study ). Davies et al (2011) also identify that although significant health improvements are attributed to ICNRM in the literature, they are primarily correlations, with causation inferred rather than demonstrated. However, ICNRM is also understood as "consistent with [indigenous peoples'] own sense of the right and proper way for them to behave towards land, family, and community" (Davies et al 2011:417), enabling a sense of control and reducing stress (Green and Martin 2016).…”

“…The two most common are the positively defined term "benefit" or "cobenefit" (Ganesharajah 2009, Weir et al 2011, Pew Charitable Trusts 2015 and the neutrally defined term "outcome" (Allen Consulting Group 2011, Davies et al 2011, Urbis 2012. Investigating the potential consequences of using different terms in analyzing ICNRM effects is beyond the scope of this paper, but it is important to note these variations in terminology and that they can be extrapolated into a series of positively, neutrally, or negatively framed terms (Table 1).…”