Planning for better health outcomes requires Indigenous perspective

Abstract

Editorialsinfrastructure, strengthening community-controlled health services, educating Indigenous people in the art and science of western health care for their own local adaptation and application -these papers give hope to the sagging spirit. All is not doom and gloom. Public health research workers are out there, working with Indigenous communities, giving public health and research a better name, and most importantly, lifting some of the heavy fallen beams of illness and injury off the lives and limbs of our Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. Planning Traven LeaAustralian National University; Australian Capital Territory Indigenous health is often described and determined by an array of words, models, concepts, principles, practices, notions, themes and philosophies which usually have unrealistic time frames or lack cultural understanding. As a result, most are seen by the Indigenous Australians they are meant to assist as being 'a white way of doing things' rather than as relevant and effective. The rhetoric which continues with this discourse often means nothing more to us as Indigenous Australians than does the paternalistic concept of 'we will fix your health'. Nevertheless, this discourse and these time frames are used time and time again to determine or to describe our health status.If the health (and well-being) of Indigenous Australians is to improve at all, then the Indigenous perspective needs to be heardespecially at all levels of the bureaucratic hierarchy -and, perhaps as importantly, we need to be given the resources with which we can go about 'fixing our own health'.As an alternative to the 'we will fix your health' philosophy, we -as practitioners in our own right -can demonstrate examples of where our own health interventions are working. These interventions are similar to those which are also being used successfully by other Indigenous peoples around the world. They work to build an infrastructure which supports programs, services, and education and training opportunities, all of which have been developed, implemented and evaluated by Indigenous people themselves and which go a long way towards an Indigenous person's notion of holistic health and well-being.If, when asked to give our opinion (as we were in this instance) on where our health will be by the year 2000, we voice our cynicism and concern, we often are judged as being negative and wanting 'special treatment' or labelled as being "hard to get along with'.On the other hand, the non-Indigenous Australians with whom we have worked closely in the mainstream for a number of years now have begun to understand 'an Aboriginal way of doing things'. They have begun to listen to our perspective, they have been able to set much more realistic time frames, they realise that we have a number of bosses besides them (most importantly, our communities and our elders) and they have been able to provide many resources with which to build an infrastructure which has been shown to be working. The provided resources have been more than ju...

Aboriginal medical services cure more than illness: a qualitative study of how Indigenous services address the health impacts of discrimination in Brisbane communities

“…It is well acknowledged that programs that incorporate Aboriginal lay perspectives are far more successful in improving Indigenous health than those that ignore them [ 51 , 63 – 65 ]. Incorporating Aboriginal voices and cultural perspectives into the design, implementation and evaluation of Indigenous health programs improves community health by developing effective, culturally appropriate intervention methods, by improving communication between clients and health care professionals and by increasing healthcare-seeking behaviour among the Aboriginal population [ 47 , 51 , 65 , 66 ].…”

Indigenous health research ‐ changes in 60 years

“…Changes in the conduct of Indigenous health research in Australia are still required, namely: increased collaboration, partnership agreements, strategic planning, consultation, and Indigenous advisory groups -true shared responsibility. 7 Such research needs to be priority-driven not by 'white fellas' but by Indigenous community members. It is important that efforts to improve the ethical collection of Indigenous health information continues, because a comprehensive knowledge base is essential for determining how Indigenous health problems are best addressed.…”

“…7 Such research needs to be priority-driven not by 'white fellas' but by Indigenous community members. It is important that efforts to improve the ethical collection of Indigenous health information continues, because a comprehensive knowledge base is essential for determining how Indigenous health problems are best addressed.…”

Health outcomes for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children born preterm, low birthweight or small for gestational age: A nationwide cohort study

“…[1–4] It is important to investigate these associations for more recent cohorts of Indigenous Australian children, to determine whether these health disparities persist in contemporary cohorts twenty years after these patterns were first identified and calls for change widely discussed. [5, 6] The social and economic context of Australian Indigenous families is fundamental to understanding child health outcomes. [7, 8] Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have experienced generational disadvantage and discrimination for over 200 years, and consequently have suffered significant social and health inequities.…”