Principles for the development of Aboriginal health interventions: culturally appropriate methods through systemic empathy

Abstract

Given that these factors have shaped negative Aboriginal responses to health interventions, they are likely to be principles by which more appropriate solutions are generated. Although intuitively sensible and well known, these principles remain poorly understood by non-Aboriginal health systems and even less well implemented. We have conceptualized these principles as the foundation of an empathic health system. Without empathy, health systems in Australia, and internationally, will continue to face the challenge of building effective services to improve the state of health for all minority populations.

Canadian Indigenous Womens Perspectives of Maternal Health and Health Care Services: A Systematic Review

“…Culturally safe care to improve the healthcare experience of Indigenous peoples has been recommended and attempted in multiple countries, including Canada, Guatemala, Australia, Mexico, and the United States of America 70,71,[76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85] . Some of these initiatives have resulted in reports of positive patient experiences, but futher areas of improvement have been identified to increase respect of Indigenous peoples and recognition of traditional knowledge [86][87][88][89] .…”

Consumers and Carers Versus Pharmacy Staff: Do Their Priorities for Australian Pharmacy Services Align?

“…While there is currently a Governmentfunded programme to promote cultural awareness and collaboration between pharmacies and Aboriginal Health Centres [32], the current study suggests that further uptake or promotion of this initiative is needed. However, cultural competency training may not be the sole answer, with Kendall and Barnett [54] suggesting that empathy needs to be supported and embedded throughout the health system, thus aligning with a patient-centred approach. Given the limited enrolments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in vocational and university-based pharmacy programmes in previous years [55], and the call for more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pharmacists to optimise care for their people [56], the continuation and expansion of programmes supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to enter the pharmacy workforce is relevant [43,56].…”

“…People who 'identify as having specific cultural or linguistic affiliation' [21] are said to be CALD, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the traditional owners of Australia. While studies have primarily explored the views of either group in relation to the overall health system [21][22][23] or specific aspects of pharmacy practice such as medication usage [24,25], research has not taken an overarching view of these subgroups and their specific health needs in relation to pharmacy. It is therefore important to see if similar needs, such as more medication information [24] or the importance of interpreters or culturally competent bilingual health workers [23,26], arise with respect to the pharmacy sector.…”

Practitioners' perceptions of the ASQ‐TRAK developmental screening tool for use in Aboriginal children: A preliminary survey

“…In remote resource‐constrained settings, the uptake of developmental screening tools that are the most useful, culturally appropriate and relevant deserve consideration to optimise the effectiveness of our efforts. It is also imperative that we do not continue to deliver health services that exacerbate the inequities between Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal Australian health outcomes by failing to provide culturally competent and respectful care . Making the ASQ‐TRAK available in remote regions that provide services to Australian Aboriginal families has the potential to improve access to and the accuracy of developmental screening …”