Evaluation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strengths based coaching program: a study protocol

Abstract

Background Increasingly, strength-based approaches to health and wellbeing interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are being explored. This is a welcome counter to deficit-based initiatives which can represent a non-Indigenous view of outcomes of interest. However, the evidence base is not well developed. This paper presents the protocol for evaluating a strengths-based initiative which provides life coaching services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community housing tenants. The study aims to evaluate the effect of life coaching on social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) of tenants in three Victorian regions. Methods The More Than a Landlord (MTAL) study is a prospective cohort study of Aboriginal Housing Victoria tenants aged 16 years and over that embeds the evaluation of a life coaching program. All tenant holders in one metropolitan and two regional areas of Victoria are invited to participate in a survey of SEWB, containing items consistent with key categories of SEWB as understood and defined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and key demographics, administered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peer researchers at baseline, 6 and 18 months. Survey participants are then invited to participate in strengths based life coaching, using the GROW model, for a duration of up to 18 months. Indigenous life coaches provide tenants with structured support in identifying and making progress towards their goals and aspirations, rather than needs. The study aims to recruit a minimum of 200 survey participants of which it is anticipated that approximately 73% will agree to life coaching. Discussion The MTAL study is a response to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and organisational requests to build the evidence base for an initiative originally developed and piloted within an Aboriginal controlled organisation. The study design aligns with key principles for research in Indigenous communities in promoting control, decision making and capacity building. The MTAL study will provide essential evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of strengths-based initiatives in promoting SEWB in these communities and provide new evidence about the relationship between strengths, resilience, self-determination and wellbeing outcomes. Trial registration This trial was retrospectively registered with the ISRCTN Register on the 12/7/21 with the study ID:ISRCTN33665735.

Exploring self-determined solutions to service and system challenges to promote social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: a qualitative study

“…This evidence has also informed advocacy efforts towards a pre-crisis Aboriginal mental health service and an Aboriginal community hub in northern Adelaide. The next phase will see the research team, Aboriginal Governance Panel and project stakeholders working together to co-create a Theory of Systems Change that builds on these findings, models of social and emotional wellbeing (23,62), and evidence from programs that tackled risks and unmet needs stemming from the social determinants of health to strengthen social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal peoples (29,(63)(64)(65)(66). In developing this theory of systems change we will collaborate with project partners to explore strategies to promote government accountability, to secure more sustainable and flexible funding, and to identify more effective service commissioning processes.…”

Social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Aboriginal controlled social housing

“…• assess the characteristics of respondents to determine the representativeness of the sample in comparison to the broader AHV population. The findings of this study will inform the implementation of a novel wellbeing intervention by AHV [15].…”

“…Opportunities for greater community and cultural engagement both for children through cultural learning experiences and more broadly through community events and safe places to meet, such as gathering places were identified in the survey. These domains can also inform strengths-based approaches to improving SEWB [15] in line with contemporary approaches in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities [29,30].…”

“…Examining various strength-based approaches in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, including those living in social housing, will inform whether these approaches are appropriate and effective in improving SEWB. The evaluation of an AHV led coaching strengths based wellbeing intervention, informed by the findings of this survey, will be published once complete and contribute to understanding this approach [15].…”