Browsing by Author "Graham S."
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Item A culturally responsive trauma-informed public health emergency framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, developed during COVID-19.(2022-12-24) Graham S.; Kamitsis I.; Kennedy M.; Heris C.; Bright T.; Bennetts S.K.; Jones K.A.; Fiolet R.; Mohamed J.; Atkinson C.; Chamberlain C.The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted peoples' livelihoods and mental wellbeing. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia continue to experience intergenerational trauma associated with colonization and may experience trauma-related distress in response to government responses to public health emergencies. We aimed to develop a culturally responsive trauma-informed public health emergency response framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led study involved: (i) a review of trauma-informed public health emergency responses to develop a draft framework (ii) interviews with 110 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents about how COVID-19 impacted their lives, and (iii) a workshop with 36 stakeholders about pandemic experiences using framework analysis to refine a culturally responsive trauma-informed framework. The framework included: an overarching philosophy (cultural humility, safety and responsiveness); key enablers (local leadership and Eldership); supporting strategies (provision of basic needs and resources, well-functioning social systems, human rights, dignity, choice, justice and ethics, mutuality and collective responsibility, and strengthening of existing systems); interdependent core concepts (safety, transparency, and empowerment, holistic support, connectedness and collaboration, and compassion, protection and caring); and central goals (a sense of security, resilience, wellbeing, self- and collective-efficacy, hope, trust, resilience, and healing from grief and loss).Copyright © 2022 by the authors.Item A pilot investigation into Aboriginal people's understandings of depression and anxiety.Axleby-Blake T.; Bilney P.; Elliott P.; Evans C.; Fitz J.; Graham S.; Herbert P.; Kassman-Reid H.; Mills R.; Mundy D.; Naden M.; Peters R.; Moller J.; Malin M.This project was conducted as part of the Certificate IV in Indigenous research capacity building in response to Aboriginal community concern about the extensive level of grief and high rates of psychological stress and mental illness being documented in Aboriginal communities. The research addressed the questions of what is known about depression and anxiety in Aboriginal communities, and how these conditions are dealt with and talked about. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Aboriginal people working or studying at an Aboriginal community controlled health agency seeking people's stories about depression and anxiety. A survey questionnaire was then administered to 75 Aboriginal community people who were not health practitioners or teachers. The interviews were thematically analysed and the questionnaire data were analysed using Excel pivot tables. The project found that almost all the Aboriginal research participants had personal knowledge of someone suffering from depression or anxiety. All but two of the participants understood these to be serious conditions and had sound understandings of the antecedents, triggers, symptoms and long term impacts. Several stories were told of resilience where, despite harrowing life circumstances, people worked to overcome their depression or anxieties, in their own time, by becoming informed about the condition and, with professional support where necessary, devised strategies for managing them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)Item Beyond deficit: 'strengths-based approaches' in Indigenous health research.(2021-12-15) Bryant J.; Bolt R.; Botfield J.R.; Martin K.; Doyle M.; Murphy D.; Graham S.; Newman C.E.; Bell S.; Treloar C.; Browne A.J.; Aggleton P.Health research concerning Indigenous peoples has been strongly characterised by deficit discourse-a 'mode of thinking' that is overly focused on risk behaviours and problems. Strengths-based approaches offer a different perspective by promoting a set of values that recognise the capacities and capabilities of Indigenous peoples. In this article, we seek to understand the conceptual basis of strengths-based approaches as currently presented in health research. We propose that three main approaches exist: 'resilience' approaches concerned with the personal skills of individuals; 'social-ecological' approaches, which focus on the individual, community and structural aspects of a person's environment; and 'sociocultural' approaches, which view 'strengths' as social relations, collective identities and practices. We suggest that neither 'resilience' nor 'social-ecological' approaches sufficiently problematise deficit discourse because they remain largely informed by Western concepts of individualised rationality and, as a result, rest on logics that support notions of absence and deficit. In contrast, sociocultural approaches tend to view 'strengths' not as qualities possessed by individuals, but as the structure and character of social relations, collective practices and identities. As such, they are better able to capture Indigenous ways of knowing and being and provide a stronger basis on which to build meaningful interventions.Copyright © 2021 Foundation for Sociology of Health & Illness.Item Key features of a trauma-informed public health emergency approach: a rapid review.Heris C.L.; Kennedy M.; Graham S.; Bennetts S.K.; Atkinson C.; Mohamed J.; Woods C.; Chennall R.; Chamberlain C.COVID-19 is a major threat to public safety, and emergency public health measures to protect lives (e.g., lockdown, social distancing) have caused widespread disruption. While these measures are necessary to prevent catastrophic trauma and grief, many people are experiencing heightened stress and fear. Public health measures, risks of COVID-19 and stress responses compound existing inequities in our community. First Nations communities are particularly at risk due to historical trauma, ongoing socio-economic deprivation, and lack of trust in government authorities as a result of colonization. The objective of this study was to review evidence for trauma-informed public health emergency responses to inform development of a culturally-responsive trauma-informed public health emergency framework for First Nations communities. We searched relevant databases from 1/1/2000 to 13/11/2020 inclusive, which identified 40 primary studies (and eight associated references) for inclusion in this review. Extracted data were subjected to framework and thematic synthesis. No studies reported evaluations of a trauma-informed public health emergency response. However, included studies highlighted key elements of a "trauma-informed lens," which may help to consider implications, reduce risks and foster a sense of security, wellbeing, self- and collective-efficacy, hope and resilience for First Nations communities during COVID-19. We identified key elements for minimizing the impact of compounding trauma on First Nations communities, including: a commitment to equity and human rights, cultural responsiveness, good communication, and positive leadership. The six principles guiding trauma-informed culturally-responsive public health emergency frameworks included: (i) safety, (ii) empowerment, (iii) holistic support, (iv) connectedness and collaboration, (v) compassion and caring, and (vi) trust and transparency in multi-level responses, well-functioning social systems, and provision of basic services. These findings will be discussed with First Nations public health experts, together with data on the experiences of First Nations families and communities during COVID-19, to develop a trauma-integrated public health emergency response framework or "lens" to minimize compounding trauma for First Nations communities. Copyright © 2022 Heris, Kennedy, Graham, Bennetts, Atkinson, Mohamed, Woods, Chennall and Chamberlain.Item "You can't replace that feeling of connection to culture and country": Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.(2023-03-20) Kennedy M.; Bright T.; Graham S.; Heris C.; Bennetts S.K.; Fiolet R.; Davis E.; Jones K.A.; Mohamed J.; Atkinson C.; Chamberlain C.This Aboriginal-led study explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents' experiences of COVID-19. 110 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents were interviewed between October 2020 and March 2022. Participants were recruited through community networks and partner health services in South Australia, Victoria, and Northern Territory, Australia. Participants were predominantly female (89%) and based in Victoria (47%) or South Australia (45%). Inductive thematic analysis identified three themes: (1) Changes to daily living; (2) Impact on social and emotional wellbeing; and (3) Disconnection from family, community, and culture. COVID-19 impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Disruption to cultural practice, and disconnection from country, family, and community was detrimental to wellbeing. These impacts aggravated pre-existing inequalities and may continue to have greater impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and communities due to intergenerational trauma, stemming from colonisation, violence and dispossession and ongoing systemic racism. We advocate for the development of a framework that ensures an equitable approach to future public health responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.Copyright © 2022 by the authors.Item Young Aboriginal people in Australia who have never used marijuana in the 'next generation youth well-being study': a strengths-based approach.(2021-10-18) Graham S.; Heris C.L.; Gubhaju L.; Eades F.; Williams R.; Davis K.; Whitby J.; Hunt K.; Chimote N.; Eades S.J.Background: Being young is a period of experimentation which can lead to increased vulnerability to poor health choices and outcomes. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) people have a long and strong history of resilience; however, a deficit approach is often taken with messages of poor health and low socioeconomic status. This study takes a strengths-based approach and examines the demographic factors and behaviours associated with never using marijuana among young Aboriginal people in Australia. Method(s): Overall, 521 Aboriginal people aged 16-24 years from Western Australia, Central Australia and New South Wales participated in the Next Generation: Youth Wellbeing Study. The baseline survey examined demographics, health-related behaviours and clinical indicators of young Aboriginal people. We calculated the number and proportion of young Aboriginal people who never used marijuana by demographics and behavioural factors. Logistic regression was used to assess the demographic and behavioural factors associated with never using marijuana. Result(s): Of the 521 participants, 458 (87.9%) answered the question about marijuana use of which 220 had incomplete demographic or behavioural questions, leaving a final cohort of 301 participants. A total of 174 (57.8%) had never used marijuana. A higher proportion of young Aboriginal people who never used marijuana were younger (16-19 years old), female, queer, single, lived in Central Australia, were students, had never smoked tobacco, had never drank alcohol, never had anxiety and never had depression. Never using marijuana was independently associated with being a parent or carer of a child (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 2.80, 95% CI: 1.03-7.59, p = 0.043), never smoking tobacco (AOR: 29.73, 95 CI: 13.32-66.37, p < 0.001), never drinking alcohol (AOR: 2.78, 95 CI: 1.12-6.93, p = 0.028), not having anxiety (AOR: 3.49, 95 CI: 1.19-10.23, p = 0.022), and having lower levels of distress (AOR: 2.63, 95 CI: 1.20-5.77, p = 0.016). Conclusion(s): Our study shows that more than half of young Aboriginal people did not use marijuana, smoke, or drink alcohol and that those who had not used marijuana had lower levels of distress.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V.