mprove the mental health of Aboriginal young people living in WA. The team from Curtin, Elder’s & Young people from Broome in partnership with KAMS are working with Headspace Broome to co-design improved ways of operating to encourage access and better outcomes for Aboriginal young people.
Project Staff: Zaccariah Cox, Aboriginal Wellbeing Research Officer; Emma Carlin, Senior Research Officer
Improving Health Services
Accessing health care at a remote Western Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service: Pilot Study
Derby Aboriginal Health Service (DAHS) is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The emphasis of the service is on Aboriginal health, preventive health, remote health, primary care and chronic disease management. The service has a Chief Executive Officer and is run by a board of local Aboriginal people. The buildings and infrastructure of the service have been designed to be appealing and accessible to Aboriginal people. DAHS should be the most accessible form of health care available for Aboriginal people in Derby and surrounding communities. In practice, however, DAHS finds it difficult to initiate and maintain relationship with many people. Anecdotally the group which is most difficult to access is the 16-25 year old age group. DAHS would like to know why this is so.
- To document the utilisation of health care services at a remote Western Australian Community Controlled Health Service by 16-25 year olds.
- To identify the barriers and enablers of access for 16-25 year olds.
Findings so far:
- 26 young Aboriginal people were interviewed.
- Participants appreciated interacting with Aboriginal staff, local staff, and longer term DAHS staff. This improved communication and interpersonal interactions, which were reported to be of prime importance for young Aboriginal people accessing health services.
- Maintaining confidentiality, minimising shame, and gender matching with health staff were also key issues for young people. Seeking health care was often based on acute need rather than proactive or preventive care; however, participants recognised that providing health education and health promotion should be a priority for the service.
- Improving youth engagement seems to be central to increasing acceptability and, hence, use. This requires that staff able to engage with young people are recruited, trained, and retained. More immediately, a range of simpler changes to service provision focus and environment for young people could potentially make important differences.
Warwick S, Atkinson D, Kitaura T, LeLievre M, Marley JV. Young Aboriginal People’s Perspective on Access to Health Care in Remote Australia: Hearing Their Voices. Prog Community Health Partnersh 2019; 13:171-181.
- Dr Susannah Warwick, RCSWA Derby
- A/Professor Julia Marley, RCSWA
- Tracey Kitaura, DAHS
- Matthew LeLievre, DAHS
- Professor David Atkinson, RCSWA
The NINI HELTHIWAN project: Improving Primary Care for Aboriginal mothers and babies in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Providing quality health care for pregnant women and young children in remote areas is both vitally important and challenging. We are conducting three inter-related research projects that will contribute to the development of a regional enhanced model of primary health care for Aboriginal pregnant women and mothers of young children.
Nini regional midwife coordinators are helping to improve the support of primary care providers who are caring for Aboriginal mothers through a peer led process [telephone assistance, email, clinic visits]. Nini Helthiwan is using a randomised stepped wedge cluster design to provide this extra support by:
- Improving guidelines and training tools for regional priorities:
- Maternal nutrition, and substance abuse [alcohol and cigarette smoking]
- Social and emotional wellbeing [Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale (KMMS)]
- Treatment and follow up practices for maternal and infant anaemia [iron infusion policy]
- Early infant care practices [breastfeeding, bonding