Browsing by Author "Walker R."
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Item Community-based participatory action research on rheumatic heart disease in an Australian Aboriginal homeland: evaluation of the 'On Track Watch' project.(2019-04-11) Haynes E.; Marawili M.; Marika B.M.; Mitchell A.G.; Phillips J.; Bessarab D.; Walker R.; Cook J.; Ralph A.P.Strategies to date have been ineffective in reducing high rates of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in Australian Aboriginal people; a disease caused by streptococcal infections. A remote Aboriginal community initiated a collaboration to work towards elimination of RHD. Based in 'both-way learning' (reciprocal knowledge co-creation), the aim of this study was to co-design, implement and evaluate community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) to achieve this vision. Activities related to understanding and addressing RHD social determinants were delivered through an accredited course adapted to meet learner and project needs. Theory-driven evaluation linking CBPAR to empowerment was applied. Data collection comprised focus groups, interviews, observation, and co-development and use of measurement tools such as surveys. Data analysis utilised process indicators from national guidelines for Aboriginal health research, and outcome indicators derived from the Wallerstein framework. Findings include the importance of valuing traditional knowledges and ways of learning such as locally-meaningful metaphors to explore unfamiliar concepts; empowerment through critical thinking and community ownership of knowledge about RHD and research; providing practical guidance in implementing empowering and decolonising principles / theories. Lessons learned are applicable to next stages of the RHD elimination strategy which must include scale-up of community leadership in research agenda-setting and implementation.Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.Item Inequities in maternal stressful life events between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women-evidence from a prospective cohort study in New Zealand.(2022-03-25) Paine S.-J.; Walker R.; Lee A.; Signal T.L.Experiences of major, stressful life events (SLE) prior to and during pregnancy, and in early childhood, are associated with a range of adverse outcomes that disproportionately impact Indigenous women and their families. However, little is known about Indigenous women's experiences of SLE. The aim of this study was to investigate: (1) inequities in the prevalence and patterning of SLE between Indigenous and non-Indigenous mothers over time, and; (2) associations between maternal SLE and ethnicity, age, socioeconomic deprivation and time. Data were from the Moe Kura prospective cohort study of 418 Indigenous Maori and 768 non-Maori women in New Zealand. Questionnaires were completed at 35-37 weeks gestation, 12-weeks postpartum, and when their child was 3-4 years of age. The prevalence of five SLE domains was estimated by ethnicity. Generalised linear mixed effects models examined associations between SLE domains and ethnicity, age, socioeconomic deprivation, and time. The prevalence of SLE was greater for Maori than non-Maori at each time point. The probability of reporting SLE increased as neighbourhood deprivation worsened. The probability of reporting SLE reduced with older age, although changes in the estimates were greater for non-Maori than Maori women. Findings show that Indigenous women experience persistent and significant inequities in SLE. Younger maternal age and greater socioeconomic deprivation explain some but not all of the inequities observed. Policies and interventions to address how colonialism and racism structure experiences of SLE for Indigenous women, including via socioeconomic deprivation, are required.Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item Measuring resilience using Strong Souls in the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children: Evaluating psychometric properties using a Rasch measurement approach.(2025-02-26) Gorman E.; Walker R.; Davis H.; Shepherd C.C.J.; Marriott R.Purpose: Rigorously evaluated psychometric instruments are necessary to measure constructs relevant to wellbeing, such as resilience. The availability of high-quality instruments for use with Aboriginal young people in Australia is growing but remains limited. This study used data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) to psychometrically evaluate the Resilience subscale from the social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) instrument, Strong Souls, for a nationwide sample of Aboriginal adolescents, using alternative psychometric methods to previous research. Methods: Using a Rasch measurement approach, cross-sectional data from Wave 9 of LSIC were used to ascertain the psychometric properties of the Resilience subscale from Strong Souls. Using the responses from 516 Aboriginal young people (age 11.5 to 13 years) to the 12-item scale, Rasch techniques were applied to determine item independence, response category adequacy, differential item functioning (DIF), person and item reliability, item fit and unidimensionality. Two versions of the instrument were evaluated: the full 12-item version, as completed by participants, and an 8-item version, as recommended for use by previous research based on different psychometric methods. Main findings: Both versions of the instrument met several Rasch model requirements for reliable measurement, including demonstrations of unidimensionality (first off factor construct < 2), item independence (all items Q3∗ < 0.30), and item fit statistics within an acceptable range (0.60 < X < 1.40). However, both instrument versions displayed less adequate person separation (PSI) and reliability (PRI) statistics (12-item scale: PSI = 1.18, PRI = 0.58; 8-item scale: PSI = 0.71, PRI = 0.33). Principal conclusions: Using a Rasch measurement approach to psychometrically evaluate the Strong Souls Resilience subscale in a sample of Aboriginal young people from LSIC, this study provided novel evidence of the functioning of this popular instrument from an alternative psychometric perspective. With mixed results regarding meeting Rasch recommendations, these findings provide a strong evidence base for psychometric strengths as well as opportunities to improve the robustness of this instrument, and ultimately offer a tool that can more accurately inform services, policy and practice to effectively support resilience and wellbeing in Aboriginal young people.Item Violence risk assessment in Australian Aboriginal offender populations: a review of the literature.Shepherd S.M.; Adams Y.; McEntyre E.; Walker R.The utilization of violence risk instruments in forensic populations is increasing and a plethora of empirical investigations support their ability to predict recidivistic outcomes. However, the generalizability of these findings to culturally diverse populations is problematic given dissimilarities in cultural traditions, norms, and experiences. The present study explored this subject in relation to Aboriginal Australians. First, a concert of violence risk markers that are more prevalent among Aboriginal Australian offenders compared with non-Aboriginal offenders were examined in light of their social and historical context. Next, studies employing violence risk instruments on cohorts of Aboriginal Australian offenders were reviewed. Findings demonstrated moderate predictive accuracy for violence and commensurate utility with non-Aboriginal offenders although results should be treated with caution due to the paucity of available studies for consideration. Implications for clinical practice and culturally appropriate assessment models are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)