Yarning about fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Outcomes of a community-based workshop

Key Stakeholder Priorities for the Review and Update of the Australian Guide to Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

“…Responses to FASD for First Nations people must be culturally specific to individuals in the context of their families and communities [46]. It also requires co-design and collaboration with the community [47], with a specific focus on decolonising approaches [48] in order to ensure ownership in the hands of the community [49]. Cultural safety must be embedded and underpin the assessment and diagnostic process, regardless of the cultural background of the individual being assessed [43,50].…”

Preventing Drift through Continued Co-Design with a First Nations Community: Refining the Prototype of a Tiered FASD Assessment

“…A major contributor to this inequity is the lasting impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations Peoples. Acknowledging the atrocities of colonisation and dispossession, and the lasting influence it continues to have on First Nations Peoples is critical to improving health and wellbeing [ 15 , 16 ]. Health providers can play a key role in supporting this acknowledgement and making progressive steps forward in closing the gap.…”

“…Two broad community co-design workshops were planned before implementing the prototype of the neurodevelopmental assessment process to ensure adaptation to the specific needs and concerns of the local community (e.g., community history, presenting concerns of their children, workforce capacity issues). The first broad community co-design workshop focused on discussions of the causes and consequences of FASD and how to assess at risk children locally [ 15 ]. The team gained valuable learnings about the community’s view on the socio-cultural factors contributing to the prevalence of FASD in this community and how to best proceed with implementing services aimed at identifying and supporting children with FASD and their families locally [ 15 ].…”

“…The first broad community co-design workshop focused on discussions of the causes and consequences of FASD and how to assess at risk children locally [ 15 ]. The team gained valuable learnings about the community’s view on the socio-cultural factors contributing to the prevalence of FASD in this community and how to best proceed with implementing services aimed at identifying and supporting children with FASD and their families locally [ 15 ]. The acknowledgment and inclusion of First Nations Peoples’ knowledge and practices and the ongoing use of a collaborative, bottom-up approach were key findings from this workshop [ 15 ].…”

“…The team gained valuable learnings about the community’s view on the socio-cultural factors contributing to the prevalence of FASD in this community and how to best proceed with implementing services aimed at identifying and supporting children with FASD and their families locally [ 15 ]. The acknowledgment and inclusion of First Nations Peoples’ knowledge and practices and the ongoing use of a collaborative, bottom-up approach were key findings from this workshop [ 15 ]. In line with these findings, the assessment prototype was further refined and then presented back to the broader community in a second workshop four months later.…”