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Beyond deficit: 'strengths-based approaches' in Indigenous health research.

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dc.contributor.authorBryant J.
dc.contributor.authorBolt R.
dc.contributor.authorBotfield J.R.
dc.contributor.authorMartin K.
dc.contributor.authorDoyle M.
dc.contributor.authorMurphy D.
dc.contributor.authorGraham S.
dc.contributor.authorNewman C.E.
dc.contributor.authorBell S.
dc.contributor.authorTreloar C.
dc.contributor.authorBrowne A.J.
dc.contributor.authorAggleton P.
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-19T05:29:45Z
dc.date.available2024-11-19T05:29:45Z
dc.date.copyright2021
dc.date.issued2021-12-15en
dc.description.abstractHealth 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.
dc.identifier.citationSociology of Health & Illness. Vol.43(6), 2021, pp. 1405-1421.
dc.identifier.doihttps://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13311
dc.identifier.institution(Bryant, Botfield, Martin, Newman, Treloar, Aggleton) Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Bolt) Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Botfield) Family Planning NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Doyle) Centre of Research Excellence in Indigenous Health and Alcohol, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Murphy) Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Graham) Department of Infectious Diseases, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Bell) UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Bell) School of Public Health, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
dc.identifier.institution(Browne) School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
dc.identifier.institution(Aggleton) Centre for Gender and Global Health, Institute for Global Health, UCL, London, United Kingdom
dc.identifier.pubmedid34145599 [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=34145599]
dc.identifier.urihttps://lowitja.intersearch.com.au/handle/1/510
dc.relation.ispartofSociology of Health & Illness
dc.subject.keywordsResearch practice
dc.titleBeyond deficit: 'strengths-based approaches' in Indigenous health research.
dc.typeArticle

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