Co‐designing research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers of mental health services, mental health workers, elders and cultural healers

Abstract

Introduction:The disparity in mental health outcomes compared with non-Indigenous Australians means that there is an urgent need to develop an evidence base around how services can better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. A critical first step is to embed cultural safety into research methodologies.Objective: Here, we aim to establish the foundation of a research project through co-designing a qualitative interview with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers and community members about experiences of cultural safety with mainstream mental health services. Design: Voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must be empowered across all stages of research. An Aboriginal-led research team conducted focus groups to understand clear, sensitive, and culturally appropriate ways of asking about experiences in mental health care, to co-design an interview on this topic. Participants were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers of mental health services, carers, mental health workers, Elders and Cultural Healers, living in Metropolitan and Regional Western Australia. Findings: Results suggest that Indigenous governance, together with investing in ongoing, and meaningful cultural awareness and cultural safety training (cultural awareness being a first step towards safety) for non-Indigenous researchers, together with taking the time to build respectful partnerships with communities through ongoing consultation, were appropriate and comprehensive methods of co-designing an interview. Discussion: The process of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in research is as important as the outcome. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, self-determination, and relationship building with communities are essential.

Awareness and understanding of concussion among Aboriginal Australians with high health literacy

“…A local community approach is suggested where Indigenous Elders are included on the boards of local hospitals and support Primary Health Networks to ensure appropriate governance, with medical/healthcare practices subject to the provision of evidence of meaningful cultural competence for accreditation. Such processes in health are similar to those identified as key to working with Indigenous Australians in research [ 41 ]. Medical practitioners and allied health workers involved in the assessment and management of people presenting with concussion are likely to benefit from Indigenous Australian-led cultural awareness and safety training including regular contact with those with lived experience.…”

Walking together in friendship: Learning about cultural safety in mainstream mental health services through Aboriginal Participatory Action Research

“…The significance of culturally safe research processes, and a detailed description of the research process that we followed for this project, is outlined in a separate paper ( Milroy et al, 2022 ). In that paper, we outlined the processes related to conceptualisation and design of the project, the development of focus group questions, decisions around how the sessions should be run and who should facilitate them, and why ( Milroy et al, 2022 ). Here, we will provide a summary of the procedure we followed.…”

“…Focus group sessions were run with the aim of understanding clear, sensitive and culturally appropriate ways of yarning with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples about experiences in mental health care, to co-design a qualitative interview about cultural safety in mainstream mental health services. We will administer this co-designed interview in the second phase of the project ( Milroy et al, 2022 ).…”

“…A first step in developing an evidence base to improve cultural safety is to embed cultural safety into the research process itself ( Milroy et al, 2022 ). Colonisation and related discourse remain evident in mental health research ( Dudgeon et al, 2014a ; Kennedy et al, 2022 ), and for the knowledge generated in any research project to be meaningful to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the process of the research needs to be culturally safe ( Lindeman et al, 2011 ; Lindeman and Togni, 2022 ).…”