A collaborative research project led by QUT and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) Brisbane has been awarded $1,332,594.60 in funding through the 2023 NHMRC Partnerships Projects program.
Engendering agency in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander community health through responsive practice is a four-year program of work that aims to develop, implement and evaluate the impact of culturally appropriate, scalable tools for reflective practice in community-controlled health.
These tools will allow practitioners to foster agency among consumers and allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients greater control over their health and wellbeing needs.
The project's co-lead, QUT Professor Steven McPhail, from the Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation & Centre for Healthcare Transformation and the School of Public Health and Social Work, said the evidence generated through this partnership would provide helpful information for community-controlled services across Australia, guiding service delivery that would lead to increased agency of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
"The inspiration for this research program was seeded and developed within ATSICHS Brisbane," Professor McPhail said.
"Engagement with, and empowerment of, community is the bedrock of the organisation's service delivery and something we thought was really worth investigating further."
ATSICHS Brisbane Community Services General Manager and project co-lead, Raymond Brunker is a proud Maramanindji man and a driving force behind the project.
"ATSICHS Brisbane opened its doors more than 50 years ago with a vision to provide community members with a means to play a more direct role in their own health and wellbeing," Mr Brunker said.
"This project builds on that vision of our co-founders by ensuring that our clients feel a sense of agency in every encounter with our service.
"We'll do this by using culturally appropriate tools, mob-led implementation approaches and reflective practice that will engender a sense of cultural safety within our service delivery."
The project features three key aims to understand agency among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients, develop a scalable model of care that incorporates consumer feedback, and conduct a culturally appropriate evaluation of the implementation of the project objectives.
(Main image, left to right: Dr Jonathan Leitch (ATSICHS), Dr Michelle Allen (QUT), Dr Bernadette-Hyland-Wood (QUT)), Professor Steven McPhail (QUT), Becki Cook (QUT), Associate Professor Zephanie Tyack (QUT), Raymond Brunker (ATSICHS), Distinguished Professor Kerrie Mengersen (QUT), Jarryd Aleckson (ATSICHS).
Inset, left to right: Andrew Goodman (CSIRO), Professor Anne Chang (QUT), Renee Blackman (ATSICHS), Jody Currie (QUT), Dr Alexia Rohde (QUT), Dr Stephen Corporal (QUT).)
The researchers and partners are:
Chief investigators: Professor McPhail, Mr Brunker from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane; Professor Kerrie Mengersen from QUT's Centre for Data Science and School of Mathematical Sciences; Professor Anne Chang and Associate Professor Zephanie Tyack from QUT's Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation and Centre for Healthcare Transformation, School of Public Health and Social Work; Yugambeh woman and QUT Professor of Practice, Indigenous Health, Jody Currie; proud Aboriginal man from Iningai country, Dr Andrew Goodman from CSIRO Australian e-Health Research Centre; proud member of the Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) nation, Renee Blackman, CEO of ATSICHS Brisbane.
Associate investigators: Jarryd Aleckson and Dr Jonathan Leitch from ATSICHS; Dr Bernadette Hyland-Wood from QUT's School of Communication; Dr Alexia Rohde from QUT Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation and School of Public Health and Social Work; Dr Stephen Corporal visiting fellow, QUT's Centre for Data Science.
Other QUT researchers: Dr Michelle Allen from School of Public Health and Social Work, Nunukul Aboriginal woman Becki Cook from School of Mathematical Sciences.
Funding partners: ATSICHS Brisbane; Queensland Family and Child Commission; CSIRO Australian e-Health Research Centre; Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association; Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak; Queensland Council of Social Service and Deeble Institute.
