Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
(Readings/notes and student online activities)
Introduction
Welcome to 401206. The unit will explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional cultures and societies, contemporary perspectives and state of play within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, the importance of culture within a health context and the disparities that exist in health status between Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander populations. The unit aims to assist you to develop cultural capabilities and skills that will ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel safe when engaging in mainstream health services.
Complete the Module 1 student online activities. Read the notes, review the PowerPoint slides and then attempt the online quiz.
Learning Outcomes for Module 1
Upon successful completion of this Module, you should be able to:
Explain the expectations of the 401206 unit
Describe the Close the Gap campaign
Understand the standards of practice for nurses and midwives in relation to Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people and the need to deliver culturally competent care
Understand key concepts associated with the development of nurses cultural capabilities when engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Understand WSU protocols and terminology when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Recognise and apply ways of communicating and working with Aboriginal people that are respectful
Module 1 is divided into four sections
Section 1: Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement of Country
Section 2: Appropriate Terminology
Section 3: The Close the Gap campaign in Australia
Section 4: Culturally safe healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that some of this content may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.
Readings for Module 1:
Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Employment. (nd). Guidelines for the use of terminology relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Prime Ministers Report. Close the Gap 2019.
NSW Health (2004). Communicating positively. A guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology.
N.B. These weekly readings are incorporated into the notes and activities in this module workbook. Complete the Module 1 student online activities, read the notes, review the PowerPoint slides and then attempt the online quiz.
| Student Activity 1: Reflect and write : When you think about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health what comes to mind? |
Section 1: Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement of Country
It is important to familiarize ourselves with two important yet distinct protocols, a ‘Welcome to Country’ and an ‘Acknowledgement of Country’ in terms of what they are, why they are important and who can perform them.
| Student Activity 2: Access the following link to Office of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Employment & Engagement (OATSIEE) and make some notes on: Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country Student Activity 3: Reflect and write : What are your thoughts about Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country? |
Section 2: Appropriate Terminology
| Student Activity 3: Access the following link Office of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples (OATSIEE) and write down the definition of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait person The tutorial introduced you to some appropriate terminology when engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.The following document offers some further guidance. Access the following link and read pages 4-5 of New South Wales Department of Health (2004) – Communicating positively: A guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology List terms associated with Aboriginal communities and terms not to be used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is important for non-Aboriginal people to recognise that the language used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has implications. Always ask or seek advice from the local Traditional Owner or Aboriginal Land Council organisation about the preferred terminology specific to your workplace, organisation, town, state, etc. Student Activity 4: Reflect and write: Who do you think you are? |
Section 3: The Close the Gap campaign in Australia
Australia has a quality of life that is one of the best in the world, but for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people this is not the case. ‘Gaps’ exist between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal people. The ‘Close the Gap’ campaign is a human-rights based campaign lead by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to end health inequality by 2030. The ‘Close the Gap’ campaign launched measurable targets, the aim being to eliminate health inequalities by 2030. Seven targets were identified.
| Student Activity 4: Access the link to the Prime Ministers Report – Closing the Gap 2019 Go to pages 10 and make a note of the seven identified targets and progress against them 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. (The current Close the Gap (2019) Prime Ministers Report states that 2 of the targets are on track) |
Section 4: Culturally safe healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
There is evidence that racism and discrimination exist in mainstream health services and as a result can be unsafe for Aboriginal people. This has now been acknowledged by the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Codes of Conduct for Nurses and Midwives (2018). The codes have been revised to incorporate specific guidelines to address this issue. Cultural competency frameworks have been introduced into education programs for future health professionals, such as registered nurses and midwives, to address individual and institutional racism and unconscious/conscious bias. Key concepts are incorporated into a framework created by Juli Coffin and these are defined below.
| Cultural awareness | An attitude that includes awareness about differences between cultures. |
| Cultural safety | Involves actions that recognise, respect and value the unique cultural identity of a person and safely meet their needs, expectations and rights. It means working from the cultural perspective of the other person, not from your own perspective. Practitioners are self-reflexive/self-aware with regard to their position of power and the impact of this role in relation to patients. Health practitioners need to examine their attitudes and beliefs with regards to Aboriginal and Torres Strat Islander people. “Safety” is defined by those who receive the service, not those who provide it (Coffin, 2007; CATSINaM, 2017). |
| Brokerage | The deliberate use of culturally competent strategies to bridge or mediate between the patient’s culture and the biomedical health care system. Central to cultural security is brokerage. It requires a two-way communication where both parties are equally informed, equally respected and equally important in the discussion (Coffin, 2007). |
| Cultural Protocols | These exist as standards of behaviour used by people to show respect to one another. Cultural protocol refers to the customs, lore and codes of behaviour of a particular cultural group and a way of conducting business. It also refers to the protocols and procedures used to guide the observance of traditional knowledge and practices, including how traditional knowledge is used, recorded and disseminated (Coffin, 2007). |
| Cultural security | Cultural security processes include brokerage, protocols and resource allocation to embed cultural security in organisations and health systems in a sustainable manner (Coffin, 2007). |
| Student Activity 5: This activity will assist you to structure a critical reflection. We will be discussing Student Activity 5 in the tutorial so don’t worry about it at this stage. Just start thinking about what critical reflective writing in this unit is about. Have a look at the rubrics in the Learning Guide which will be used to mark your reflective assessments. Identify an issue/topic in the Module 1 and critically reflect over it. Use the following sequence based on Gibbs reflective Cycle to guide your writing. Gibbs (1988) The ‘issue’ that you select may relate to one of the topics listed below or something else that has caught your attention/effected how you think about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their health. The following are some possible areas on which to base a reflection, but you need to decide which ones are relevant to you, what has impacted you? Something your heard in the lecture? What do you think about Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country? Why do you think health disparities are experienced by some Aboriginal people? Why is terminology important? Is it important to make healthcare culturally safe for Aboriginal people? Description: Feelings: Critical Evaluation: Analysis and conclusion: Action plan: | |
References
CATSINaM (2017) Position Statement: Embedding Cultural Safety across Australian Nursing and Midwifery (accessed 11/02/2019) http://catsinam.org.au/static/uploads/files/embedding-cultural-safety-accross-australian-nursing-and-midwifery-may-2017-wfca.pdf
Coffin, J. (2007). Rising to the challenge in Aboriginal health by creating cultural security. Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, 31 (3), 22-24.
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. [London]: FEU.
NSW Health (2004). Communicating positively. A guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology. Access 11/2/19 from
Nursing Midwifery Board of Australia, Code of Conduct for Midwives (2018). Accessed 11/2/19 from http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards.aspx
Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Employment (OATSIEE) (nd). Definitions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (accessed 11/02/2019)
Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Employment (OATSIEE) (nd). Guidelines for the use of terminology relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (accessed 11/02/2019)
Prime Ministers Report (2018). Closing the Gap. Accessed 11/2/19 from http://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2018.pdf?a=1
Prime Ministers Report (2019). Closing the Gap. Accessed 15/2/19 from
