Lowitja Institute:: Browsing by Author "Robinson G."

Browsing by Author "Robinson G."

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Adaptation of the ages and stages questionnaire for remote Aboriginal Australia.
(2017-03-23) D'Aprano A.; Silburn S.; Johnston V.; Robinson G.; Oberklaid F.; Squires J.
A key challenge to providing quality developmental care in remote Aboriginal primary health care (PHC) centers has been the absence of culturally appropriate developmental screening instruments. This study focused on the cross-cultural adaptation of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, 3rd edition (ASQ-3), with careful attention to language and culture. We aimed to adapt the ASQ-3 for use with remote dwelling Australian Aboriginal children, and to investigate the cultural appropriateness and feasibility of the adapted ASQ-3 for use in this context. We undertook a qualitative study in two remote Australian Aboriginal communities, using a six-step collaborative adaptation process. Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) were trained to use the adapted ASQ-3, and follow-up interviews examined participants' views of the cultural acceptability and usefulness of the adapted instrument. The adapted ASQ-3 was found to have high face validity and to be culturally acceptable and relevant to parents, AHWs, and early childhood development experts. Copyright © The Author(s) 2014.
Challenges in monitoring the development of young children in remote Aboriginal health services: clinical audit findings and recommendations for improving practice.
(20210615) D'Aprano A.; Silburn S.; Johnston V.; Bailie R.; Mensah F.; Oberklaid F.; Robinson G.
Introduction: Early detection of developmental difficulties is universally considered a necessary public health measure, with routine developmental monitoring an important function of primary healthcare services. This study aimed to describe the developmental monitoring practice in two remote Australian Aboriginal primary healthcare services and to identify gaps in the delivery of developmental monitoring services. Method(s): A cross-sectional baseline medical record audit of all resident children aged less than 5 years in two remote Aboriginal health centres in the Northern Territory (NT) in Australia was undertaken between December 2010 and November 2011. Result(s): A total of 151 medical records were audited, 80 in Community A and 71 in Community B. Developmental checks were more likely among children who attended services more regularly. In Community A, 63 (79%) medical records had some evidence of a developmental check and in Community B there were 42 (59%) medical records with such evidence. However, there was little indication of how assessments were undertaken: only one record noted the use of a formal developmental screening measure. In Community A, 16 (16%) records documented parent report and 20 (20%) documented staff observations, while in Community B, the numbers were 2 (3%) and 11 (19%), respectively. The overall recorded prevalence of developmental difficulties was 21% in Community A and 6% in Community B. Conclusion(s): This is the first study to describe the quality of developmental monitoring practice in remote Australian Aboriginal health services. The audit findings suggest the need for a systems-wide approach to the delivery and recording of developmental monitoring services. This will require routine training of remote Aboriginal health workers and remote area nurses in developmental monitoring practice including the use of a culturally appropriate, structured developmental screening measure. Copyright © James Cook University 2016, http://www.jcu.edu.au
Culture, context and therapeutic processes: delivering a parent-child intervention in a remote Aboriginal community.
Mares S.; Robinson G.
Objective: Little is written about the process of delivering mainstream, evidence-based therapeutic interventions for Aboriginal children and families in remote communities. Patterns of interaction between parents and children and expectations about parenting and professional roles and responsibilities vary across cultural contexts. This can be a challenging experience for professionals accustomed to work in urban settings. Language is only a part of cultural difference, and the outsider in a therapeutic group in an Aboriginal community is outside not only in language but also in access to community relationships and a place within those relationships. Method: This paper uses examples from Let's Start, a therapeutic parent-child intervention to describe the impact of distance, culture and relationships in a remote Aboriginal community, on the therapeutic framework, group processes and relationships. Results: Cultural and contextual factors influence communication, relationships and group processes in a therapeutic group program for children and parents in a remote Aboriginal community. Group leaders from within and from outside the community, are likely to have complementary skills. Conclusions: Cultural and contextual factors influence communication, relationships and group processes in a therapeutic group program for children and parents in a remote Aboriginal community. Group leaders from within and from outside the community, are likely to have complementary skills. Program adaptation, evaluation and staff training and support need to take these factors into account to ensure cultural accessibility without loss of therapeutic fidelity and efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigating the sustainability of outcomes in a chronic disease treatment programme.
(2006-08-15) Bailie R.S.; Robinson G.; Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan S.N.; Halpin S.; Wang Z.
This study examines trends in chronic disease outcomes from initiation of a specialised chronic disease treatment programme through to incorporation of programme activities into routine service delivery. We reviewed clinical records of 98 participants with confirmed renal disease or hypertension in a remote Indigenous community health centre in Northern Australia. For each participant the review period spanned an initial three years while participating in a specialised cardiovascular and renal disease treatment programme and a subsequent three years following withdrawal of the treatment programme. Responsibility for care was incorporated into the comprehensive primary care service which had been recently redeveloped to implement best practice care plans. The time series analysis included at least six measures prior to handover of the specialised programme and six following handover. Main outcome measures were trends in blood pressure (BP) control, and systolic and diastolic BP. We found an improvement in BP control in the first 6-12 months of the programme, followed by a steady declining trend. There was no significant difference in this trend between the pre- compared to the post-programme withdrawal period. This finding was consistent for control at levels below 130/80 and 140/90, and for trends in mean systolic and diastolic BP. Investigation of the sustainability of programme outcomes presents major challenges for research design. Sustained success in the management of chronic disease through primary care services requires better understanding of the causal mechanisms related to clinical intervention, the basis upon which they can be 'institutionalised' in a given context, and the extent to which they require regular revitalisation to maintain their effect. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Narratives and processes - developing a responsive parent-child program to empower local facilitators in a remote Aboriginal community.
Stock C.; Punguatji M.K.; Cubillo C.; Robinson G.
This article presents the results of a retrospective study that critically examines the development of a responsive parent-child program from conceptualisation to pilot implementation. The development of the Play to Connect program was a continuation of research translation work of the Let's Start parenting program which was delivered in remote Aboriginal communities across the Northern Territory, Australia from 2005-2016. The impetus for the Play to Connect program came from the community need for parenting support that could be delivered by local Aboriginal workers living in the community. The aim was to bring research and community together through the co-creation of contextually relevant knowledge directly useful for local Aboriginal facilitators. Embedded in a dynamic cycle of planning, delivery, observation and reflection, the team of local Aboriginal staff and visiting practitioners designed and piloted an innovative, user-friendly and adaptable parent-child program which was underpinned by the evaluation findings of an existing program, drawing on the framework of play therapy. The 2.5 year long process of development brought about action and change for the local Aboriginal staff. They valued the co-creation of the program and resources and reported increased knowledge of child development and confidence to deliver family support in their community. This study shows that the development of Play to Connect was more than "tailoring" a parenting program-it was a way of creating sustainable support around a program to increase the chances of continuity of implementation and successful community engagement and development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Ngaripirliga'ajirri: the implementation of exploring together on the Tiwi Islands.
Robinson G.; Tyler W.
From 1999 to 2003, the Tiwi Health Board, in partnership with University researchers, undertook the implementation of the Exploring Together Program as part of a preventive strategy in response to serious social problems affecting young Tiwi people, their parents and families. The implementation of the program necessitated engagement of Tiwi communities in ways that were responsive to issues such as the local context, culture, and patterns of family life, and at the same time maintained a commitment to the core elements of the intervention as a structured intervention requiring relatively advanced professional skills to achieve consistent high standards of delivery. The delivery team included both Tiwi community members and non-Tiwi personnel. They redeveloped a number of areas of content of the program to ensure adequate recognition of important themes in Tiwi parenting and family life while retaining the key elements of structure and content. The adapted program--Ngaripirliga'ajirri--showed many highly promising outcomes and, within the limits of the research design, indicated that a structured early intervention program can be effective in remote Indigenous contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Telling and re-telling stories: the use of narrative and drawing in a group intervention with parents and children in a remote Aboriginal community.
Stock C.; Mares S.; Robinson G.
The Let's Start Parent-Child Program is a manualised parent-child program which aims to improve educational, social and emotional outcomes for Aboriginal parents and their four- to seven-year-old children. It has been implemented in the Northern Territory, Australia on the Tiwi Islands and in Darwin since 2005. This paper outlines the adaptation of the program to include narrative approaches, the sharing of stories and the use of expressive arts as a way to build understanding between program leaders and participating families. An example from a recent program is used to illustrate how the sharing of stories and expressive use of art engages and binds group participants together. It supports parents to tell their own stories, to speak about their lived experience, to reconsider aspects of their own and their children's experiences and to achieve an increased awareness of their personal resources and a sense of self-empowerment. The program is designed and delivered with sensitivity to individual parents, children and families, where cultural and interpersonal differences and different developmental and family situations can be taken into account. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
The Aboriginal mental health worker program: the challenge of supporting Aboriginal involvement in mental health care in the remote community context.
Harris A.; Robinson G.
This paper draws on our experience as evaluators of the Aboriginal Mental Health Worker Program that has been operating in eight remote communities across the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia, for over four years. The program aimed to fund the placement of Aboriginal Mental Health Workers (AMHWs) in remote community health centres, to work under the clinical leadership of General Practitioners and to contribute to development of a culturally appropriate community based mental health care service for Indigenous people. In this paper, we examine the key features of the AMHW program and the originating partnership, the degree of integration of AMHWs in health centre processes and the provision of support for the development of the AMHW role in community mental health work. While there are many examples in this program of AMHWs providing highly valued services within their communities, the evaluation showed that the program did not achieve clear commitments to develop mental health practice around the AMHWs' role. In addition there was variability in levels of local managerial support for the AMHWs, vulnerability to staff turnover and other discontinuities, as well as tensions in views about what the role of the AMHWs should be. Should it be culturally informed, clinically-related mental health work or community 'wellbeing work', and how should each role be supported? Together these factors undermined the sustainability of positive achievements within the program. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Browsing by Author "Robinson G."

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