An evaluation of the national empowerment project cultural, social, and emotional wellbeing program
9
Citation
0
Reference
20
Related Paper
Citation Trend
Abstract:
An array of cumulative risk and stress factors, and social inequities, have contributed to high suicides and family and community dysfunction, in two communities in Queensland. An independent, post-program evaluation of the National Empowerment Project (NEP) Cultural, Social and Emotional Wellbeing (CSEWB) Program specifically developed to address these issues was conducted in Kuranda and Cherbourg communities, Queensland in early 2017. Summaries of 153 stories of most significant change (SMSC) and 30 interviews undertaken with participants who completed the CSEWB program informed the evaluation. The evaluation assessed if, and how, the CSEWB program contributed to strengthening the cultural, social, and emotional wellbeing of participants, their families and communities. Participant’s interviews describe how the CSEWB Program significantly changed their lives and their families’ lives in various constructive and affirming ways to bring about positive outcomes. The extent of significant changes reported are compelling, and they highlight the need for greater government commitment to services and programs which address the social determinants influencing social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) within Indigenous communities around Australia.Keywords:
Emotional well-being
Cite
Research Aims/Questions: It has been acknowledged that the mental health of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been 'bedeviled' by the inappropriate application of non-Indigenous models of mental health. Given the poor health outcomes of Indigenous people, another approach to mental health practice is required. In order to enhance Indigenous health and wellbeing it is necessary for non-Indigenous practitioners to find a culturally safe way in which to enter the negotiated space of cross-cultural mental health. This will be facilitated through understanding both the points of similarity and divergence in perspectives of mental health across cultures. The current study aimed to explore urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s understandings of mental health using a positive psychology framework.
Methodology: A qualitative research project was conducted with a sample of 19 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people. Data was collected via individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes within the data.
Conclusion: Four themes emerged as reflecting health and wellbeing – coping skills, knowledge, social support, and connectedness. The theme of connectedness to country, family and kinship, cultural knowledge and social networks emerged as reflecting a unique contribution to Indigenous health and wellbeing. However, the themes of coping skills, knowledge and social support shared cross-cultural meaning. In particular, coping skills identified in the behavioural, emotional and cognitive domains shared many cross-culturally applicable avenues for intervention. Therapeutic interventions in these domains are already well established within cognitive behaviour therapies. It is the cross-cultural understandings within these themes that offer clinicians a culturally safe avenue for supporting Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.
Social Connectedness
Thematic Analysis
Cite
Citations (0)
Though social and emotional wellbeing is an important outcome for policy makers in health and education, it is not adequately reflected by mainstream mental health assessment tools - in particular for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. This article aims to identify the early childhood factors associated with later social and emotional wellbeing when the child is ready to start school, and to develop a new indicator that could capture a more holistic view of wellbeing. It draws on data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children to look at selected individual and family factors during pregnancy and up to 2 years of age compared to children's prosocial behaviour, mental health, connectedness, and other surrogate proxies for social and emotional wellbeing at school commencement. Though the authors were unable to create a single index of social and emotional wellbeing, the findings highlight the need to apply caution in applying Western biomedical health and wellbeing measures to Indigenous concepts and states.
Social Connectedness
Prosocial Behavior
Mainstream
Emotional health
Social emotional learning
Cite
Citations (0)
Objectives: Traditional indigenous society promoted the social and emotional well-being of indigenous men through the meeting of men in daily life and during ceremonial times. There is an increasing recognition that men’s groups use similar mechanisms to enhance the social and emotional well-being of participants and their communities. This paper seeks to increase understanding of the processes and impacts of contemporary indigenous men’s groups from an indigenous doctor’s perspective. Method: Review of published and unpublished literature and reflections on the primary author’s experiences within several indigenous men’s groups using a participatory action research model were used to examine how participation within these groups can improve social and emotional well-being. Results: There is a scarcity of published data on the distribution, activities and outcomes of indigenous men’s groups. Published qualitative and experiential observations suggest that they contribute to improved social and emotional well-being for participants, their families and communities. Conclusions: Men’s groups may be a good adjunct to the outpatient care of indigenous patients. As the published literature is entirely qualitative, mixed methods evaluation using appropriate and sensitive measures would assist in systematically capturing the impacts and outcomes of men’s groups. Such evaluations could enhance programme longevity and encourage the referral of patients by mainstream mental health practitioners.
Mainstream
Emotional well-being
Cite
Citations (5)
It has been acknowledged that the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been 'bedevilled' by the inappropriate application of non- Indigenous models of mental health. Given the poor health outcomes of Indigenous people, another approach to mental health practice is perhaps required. In order to enhance Indigenous health and wellbeing, it is necessary for non-Indigenous practitioners to find a culturally safe way in which to enter the negotiated space of cross-cultural mental health. Such practice can be facilitated through understanding both the points of similarity and divergence in perspectives of mental health across cultures. While the majority of Indigenous people live in urban areas, understandings of Indigenous mental health have primarily been derived from research in rural and remote communities. It is unclear whether findings from rural and remote research are applicable in urban Indigenous communities. The aim of the current research is to address this gap and to explore understandings of mental health in an urban Indigenous sample. This study provided a voice for urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to convey their understandings of mental health so that an accurate representation may be available for those who are engaged in health promotion and mental health treatment.
Using a positive psychology framework, a strengths-based approach was taken in this study in order to explore understandings of mental health. A qualitative research investigation was conducted with a sample of 19 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants. Data was collected via individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Qualitative analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. A model of Indigenous mental health was developed taking an holistic perspective. Four themes emerged as reflecting health and wellbeing and are presented in a model of Indigenous mental health:-
• Coping Skills: emotional, behavioural and cognitive;
• Knowledge: regarding physical health and access to mental health care;
• Social Support: personal resources and help-seeking behaviours; and
• Connectedness: cultural, social and family and kinship.
The theme of connectedness emerged as reflecting a unique contribution to Indigenous health and wellbeing. The role of connectedness to country, family and kinship, knowledge and social networks was highlighted. Further, the theme of connectedness also emerged as central to supporting cultural identity. Not only did connectedness promote and protect mental health and cultural identity, factors that diminished cultural identity also negatively impacted upon mental health. The striking similarity between mental health and cultural identity, as seen in the common theme of connectedness, highlights the necessity of attending to cultural factors to facilitate positive health outcomes.
This model of Indigenous mental health begins to fill in the boundaries of the negotiated space that is cross-cultural psychology - the space where both Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge offers a path or guidelines to enhance health and wellbeing. It is essential to address those factors that are similar across cultures – coping skills, social support and knowledge, but also to engage at the cultural interface of connectedness to culture, kinship and social networks.
This information has implications for cross-cultural clinical practice, through providing a map for non-Indigenous practitioners to engage in culturally safe practice. Further, this information will support the development of culturally safe health and wellbeing programs that sustain and nurture the cultural identity and mental health of Indigenous people. In this way, meaningful contributions may be made by health professionals to 'close the gap' in health and mental health outcomes for Indigenous people.
Cite
Citations (1)
Well-Being
Cite
Citations (11)
The Ngala Nanga Mai pARenT Group Program is an arts based community health program for young parents of Aboriginal children situated at an Aboriginal Community Health Centre in Sydney and run by the Sydney Children’s Hospital. The program emerged through the community’s commitment to support young families facing adverse environmental factors, cultural dislocation, isolation, intergenerational grief and loss and lower levels of access to mainstream services that often underlie poorer health and social outcomes for Aboriginal parents and children. This paper details the development and implementation of this participatory arts based program, which aims to increase social and emotional wellbeing, access to services, health literacy, empowerment strategies and educational opportunities among participants. The program is based on the transformational capacity of art and embraces the values of a democratic and participatory learning framework. Through arts based exploration of identity and belonging, participants express the multifaceted experiences that shape their lives, and gain an understanding of how this impacts on their health and that of their children. The program has emerged from the local context and created its own iconography to define and strengthen the social and cultural dimensions initiated by the group. These initiatives have enhanced participants’ capacity for agency and transformation, personally, in the group itself and in the community. The process and impact of the program has been captured through a formal evaluation using a mixed methods, reflexive approach including qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups, testimonials and quantitative data collected using the Growth and Empowerment Measure (Haswell et al. 2010), a validated measure of psycho-social empowerment and wellbeing. This evaluation demonstrated that art-making and cultural literacy enhances the flourishing of young parents and their Aboriginal children in a way that is both empowering and transformative.
Thematic Analysis
Cite
Citations (1)
Indigenous youth suffer from high rates of comorbid mental and physical health disease. The purpose of this research was to evaluate an existing intervention aimed at empowering Indigenous youth, using a qualitative, community-based participatory research method. We completed focus groups with 23 program participants, and analysis revealed positive improvements in physical, emotional, social, and cultural domains. Participants noted that key social, familial, and cultural aspects of the intervention were most impactful for them. Informed by the participants' experiences, these findings offer guidance for developing interventions to reduce and/or prevent mental and physical health disparities for Indigenous youth and young adults.
Community-Based Participatory Research
Cherokee
Cite
Citations (9)
In partnership with the University of Western Australia (UWA), the strengths-based National Empowerment Project (NEP) brought together researchers from across Australia and began to address issues surrounding Aboriginal wellbeing and, in particular, the high rates of Aboriginal deaths by suicide. The NEP utilised participatory action research (PAR) and was concerned with promoting positive cultural, social, and emotional wellbeing (CSEWB) and building capacity and resilience within Aboriginal communities. Throughout the NEP, consultations with 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities led to the development of a CSEWB program. The program seeks to increase self-determination and empowerment, developing participants’ awareness of a variety of issues relevant to wellbeing. This enables participants to gain a greater understanding of the holistic nature of CSEWB and the complex influences on Aboriginal wellbeing at individual, family, and community levels. This chapter is concerned with the development and delivery of the CSEWB program within three community sites in Perth, Western Australia. Shared philosophical approaches of the CSEWB program, between UWA and Aboriginal communities were human rights and social justice, community ownership, community capacity building, a strong focus on resilience, empowerment and partnerships, respect for local knowledge, and the delivery of community consultations. Investigation into the impacts of the program are based in an anti-colonial space, employing Indigenous Standpoint Theory and PAR approaches. This chapter demonstrates the success of the CSEWB program, links this success to the vital importance of Indigenous research ethics, and positions the research within an empowering and capacity-building context.
Capacity Building
Community Engagement
Community Resilience
Cite
Citations (1)
There are few empirical studies about the role of Aboriginal sporting organisations in promoting wellbeing. The aim of the present study was to understand the impact of an Aboriginal community sporting team and its environment on the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of young Aboriginal men, and to identify barriers and motivators for participation. A literature review of the impact of sport on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal participants was conducted. This informed a qualitative study design with a grounded theory approach. Four semistructured interviews and three focus groups were completed with nine current players and five past players of the Fitzroy Stars Football Club to collect data about the social, emotional and physical wellbeing impact of an Aboriginal football team on its Aboriginal players. Results of the interviews were consistent with the literature, with common concepts emerging around community connection, cultural values and identity, health, values, racism and discrimination. However, the interviews provided further detail around the significance of cultural values and community connection for Aboriginal people. The complex nature of social connections and the strength of Aboriginal community networks in sports settings were also evident. Social reasons were just as important as individual health reasons for participation. Social and community connection is an important mechanism for maintaining and strengthening cultural values and identity. Barriers and motivators for participation in Aboriginal sports teams can be complex and interrelated. Aboriginal sports teams have the potential to have a profound impact on the health of Aboriginal people, especially its players, by fostering a safe and culturally strengthening environment and encompassing a significant positive social hub for the Aboriginal community.
Community Health
Cite
Citations (28)
The purpose of this research (PhD) was to explore Aboriginal understandings of suicide from a Social and Emotional Wellbeing (holistic) Framework through the establishment of traditional yarning style approaches to interviews and focus groups. Culturally this framework fits well with an Indigenous holistic view of health, connection to land, culture, spirituality, family, and community. These are important to Aboriginal people and can impact on their wellbeing. This research was undertaken in consultation with up to 55 Aboriginal residents across Toowoomba Darling Downs and South West regions of Queensland classified as rural, remote, semi-urban and urban Aboriginal communities.
There is a need for additional research into understandings and definitions of suicidal behaviour for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities (Suicide Prevention Australia, 2009a; 2014b). The loss of a life from suicide impacts considerably on the family and the wider community, which in turn disrupts social and emotional wellbeing - mental health (De Leo et al., 2011) of Aboriginal people. As the social and emotional well-being (SEWB) and mental health problems are not completely recognised or understood from an Aboriginal perspective within the broader health care system.
It is evident that suicides among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are much more frequent in comparison to other Queenslanders, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders suicide rates are 50 percent higher (Kolves, Potts & De Leo, 2015). Not only are these high rates characteristic of the interplay of both risk and protective factors but broader social, economic and historic factors affecting social and emotional wellbeing and mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are also important. Evidence suggests improving social and emotional wellbeing of people results in a reduction in suicides for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Queensland Mental Health Commission, 2015).
This research set out to attain a comprehensive understanding of suicides from an Aboriginal perspective. This incorporated undertaking a historical and contemporary analysis of the literature on suicide across the broader population – internationally and nationally to determine when suicides primarily occurred in Australian Aboriginal populations. In addition further historical understanding of suicides in each Aboriginal community was also important in appreciating the historical and cultural context of communities where Aboriginal people currently resided. Aboriginal participants including females and males, young people (18 years and over), middle-aged people and elders residing within each of the communities participated in pre-arranged face to face semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis of the data achieved a number of themes (Italics) and subthemes: Suicide, Community – underlying issues and substance misuse, Young people – relationships and help-seeking, mental health – services and awareness and Culture – cultural perspectives, social, lifestyle and leadership.
In conclusion suicide in Aboriginal communities is on the rise accompanied by intergenerational trauma, substance misuse, poverty, disempowerment, disengagement and disadvantage within the larger social and health context. Historically suicide and self-harm did not appear to exist prior to the 1960s; and there is a difference in understandings and shifts in attitudes towards suicides today. The negative effects from emotional distress, violence, self-harm, substance abuse, anti-social behaviour, behavioural and disciplinary problems are all compounded by the ongoing experiences of social and economic disadvantages further impacting on the risk of social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal people and their communities.
Cite
Citations (1)