Culturally appropriate health promotion: its meaning and application in Aboriginal communities

Abstract

Issues addressed: The socioeconomic disadvantage and ill-health experienced by Indigenous Australians has continued at alarming rates despite increased research into Indigenous health and the burdens faced by Indigenous peoples. Given the state of ill-health in Indigenous communities, there is increasing recognition of the need for greater understanding of Indigenous health needs and means by which to deal with them. Method: This exploratory research study was designed to assess the meaning of Indigenous Australians' 'wellbeing' and 'spirituality', and the possible connection between these concepts. The study explored these concepts through a series of semi-structured interviews in an Indigenous community of northeastern New South Wales. Results: The research participants consistently described well-being as an all-encompassing and holistic concept. Findings showed that spirituality still occupied a crucial role in Indigenous culture and well-being , despite the challenges to its existence since European invasion. Conclusion: It is evident that the support of Indigenous spirituality, community cohesion and identity will be beneficial, if not essential to the promotion of health and well-being among Australia's Indigenous peoples. The acknowledgement of spirituality as a significant factor in well-being has many implications for diverse fields and practices of health.

Images of health among hospital patients in Jordan: A qualitative study

“…This is because the future of health care depends not only on scientifically based evidence but also on recognition of population diversity and people's cultural understanding of health itself. [17,20,52] As a result, hospital nurses should incorporate patients' constructs of health into the framework of the patient's daily care plan and health promotion activities.…”

“…In light of the current existing evidence, offering congruent health care that could decrease the fear of health services, maximise the respect between patients and nurses is problematic. [17,18] Subsequently establishing culturally congruent health care as well as health promotion activities will not only be lacking empirical guidance, [12,19] but also their cultural applicability will be in doubt. [20] The current study examines qualitatiavly hospital patients' understanding of health and its cultural constructions in Jordan.…”

“…It is not surprising therefore that nurses are urged to examine how health needs of individuals are specifically expressed and met in a certain culture rather than exclusively practising within a context of a pre-established model of care. [17,29,30] Such models were largely generated and tested within the western paradigm of health. [4,28] On this basis, there are concerns that the existing models might not fit with other international health care systems.…”

Evaluation of a Culturally Adapted Training in Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing for the Alcohol and Other Drug Workforce

“…This includes a need to blend Indigenous concepts of health and wellbeing and non-Indigenous ways of understanding and treating illness in order to develop services which are appropriate to Indigenous peoples [28][29][30] and to integrate recovery oriented approaches to mental health care. The overall findings of this study indicate that this culturally-specific client-centred training strengthened participants' knowledge and skills in collaborative mental health care.…”

An Approach to Treating Depressive and Psychotic Illness in Indigenous Communities

“…The Indigenous community has particular difficulty accessing specialist services given issues of distance, language, literacy and worldview (Bailey et al, 2002;Brock et al, 1999;Cass et al, 2002;Eades, 2005). Moreover, there is a need to explore new combinations of approaches to understanding and treatment of mental illness in order to develop a therapy that is appropriate to Indigenous people (Kirmayer, Simpson, & Cargo, 2003;McLennan & Khavarpour, 2004;Murray et al, 2002;Roxbee & Wallace, 2003;Trudgen, 2000). The paucity of clinical research into Indigenous-specific relapseprevention interventions is a major concern given the high number of Indigenous hospital admissions for psychiatric illness, and escalating substance misuse, self-harm and suicide rates (Clough et al, 2004;McLennan & Khavarpour, 2004;Nagel, 2005Nagel, , 2006ShuQinLi, Measey, & Parker, 2004).…”