Experiences of co‐designing research about a rural Aboriginal well‐being program: Informing practice and policy

Abstract

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Sustaining an Aboriginal wellbeing program: Informing health promotion practice and policy

“…This study forms part of a larger research project which stemmed from an expressed interest by local Aboriginal community members and Galambila ACCHS staff to better understand strengths of Spring into Shape. 13,20,21 Discussions with Galambila staff, and Aboriginal and non-Indigenous authors over 2 years led to a critically framed, strengths-based research approach designed collaboratively with community (see Figure 1). 20,21 A critically framed research approach takes a social justice stance and aims to reveal, critique and challenge power structures which have oppressed Aboriginal Ways of Knowing, Being and Doing for research and wellbeing practice.…”

Everyday people and co‐design in rural health research: On writing about positionality and experiences

“…Of note is the study that produced 'the first research project to develop a codesign practice model in the context of a rurally located Aboriginal well-being Program.' 9 The authors of this article provide some idea of their positionality, as do many articles where the focus is First Nations peoples. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] We wonder, should positionality be a component of all rural health research articles, and what should be considered in positionality statements?…”

“…As is the case for positionality, writing about the process and experiences of co‐design is a new development, as noted by Urquhart et al 9 on writing about the seldom explored experiences of co‐design and the unwritten ways of knowledge sharing. In regard to experiences, it was converted into principles for teamwork and intercultural collaboration (Wall et al 12 ; Tamwoy et al 14 ); noted as crucial in the extensive collation of information and flow‐on effects (Black et al 11 ); described as ‘experiential learning’ that is nonlinear and dependent on cultural context and co‐design in navigating between science and mātauranga (knowledge) in Māori research (Rolleston et al 13 ); in writing about the first time to be asked about their experiences (Collins et al 10 ); and when detailing participants' perspectives (Binder et al 17 ).…”

“…A key part of such an activity would be to provide guidance on writing in a scholarly way that is outside of the conventional AIMRDC format that is designed for reporting of research outputs only. The articles in this collection consisted of commentaries, 13,14,[18][19][20][21] original research [9][10][11][15][16][17]22,23 and quality improvement reports. 12,24 The article by Barker et al 16 contains a video of a recently passed Aboriginal women who consented for the video to be shared as a supporting information.…”

“…The key theme from these articles is non‐Indigenous researchers allying with First Nations communities to ensure that cultural values are infused into the research. Of note is the study that produced ‘the first research project to develop a co‐design practice model in the context of a rurally located Aboriginal well‐being Program.’ 9 The authors of this article provide some idea of their positionality, as do many articles where the focus is First Nations peoples 10–16 …”