Community views on ‘Can perinatal services safely identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents experiencing complex trauma?’

Catherine Chamberlain, Paul Gray, Helen Herrman, Fiona Mensah, Shawana Andrews, Jacynta Krakouer, Pamela McCalman, Alison Elliott, Judy Atkinson, Birri O'Dea, Alex Bhathal, Graham Gee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Family and extended kinship systems which nurture healthy, happy children are central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Since colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been impacted by intergenerational cycles of trauma, stemming from colonial violence, genocidal policies and discrimination, including the forced removal of children from their families. Becoming a parent offers a unique life-course opportunity for trauma recovery and preventing intergenerational trauma. However, identifying or ‘recognising’ complex trauma carries significant risk of harm for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents due to reactive prenatal child protection involvement potentially compounding experiences of trauma, and limited benefits due to lack of culturally appropriate support. The Aboriginal-led participatory Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future project aims to co-design safe, accessible and feasible perinatal awareness, recognition, assessment and support strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents experiencing complex trauma. This paper presents views of 38 workshop participants to determine prerequisites for ensuring benefits outweigh risks of assessment to safely recognise parents experiencing complex trauma, consistent with screening criteria. Six essential elements were identified from thematic analysis: high-quality holistic care; cultural, social and emotional safety; empowerment, choice and control; flexible person-centred approaches; trusting relationships; and sensitive, skilled communication. Key Practitioner Messages: The impacts of colonisation and rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait children in out-of-home care mean that there can be a myriad of issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents with regard to perinatal child protection involvement. The benefits must outweigh the risks of identifying parents experiencing complex trauma. Assessment must be offered within foundations of supportive relationships and holistic care in culturally-safe, empowering settings, where choices are respected and skilled communication approaches are used.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2760
Pages (from-to)1-14
Number of pages14
JournalChild Abuse Review
Volume32
Issue number1
Early online dateApr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We sincerely thank all the people who generously shared their expertise in the third Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future workshop held in Melbourne, Australia on 14–15 November 2019. This manuscript presents an overview of the rich knowledge and perspectives shared by workshop participants, including those who gave written permission to be named: Angela Hampton, Shannon Bennetts, Tanisha Springall, Johanna Lynch, Rachel Reilly, Georgie Igoe, Naomi Kikkawa, Helen McLachlan, Deirdre Gartland, Karen Glover, Tanya Hirvonen, Caroline Atkinson. We also acknowledge our partner organisations for their oversight and leadership in this project, including: Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Royal Women’s Hospital, Bouverie Family Healing Centre, Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc., Women and Children’s Health Network of South Australia, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and Moorundi Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service of South Australia, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University. The Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future project is funded by the Lowitja Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health CRC and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant (1141593). We thank members of the investigator team who are not listed as authors on this manuscript for their oversight and guidance in the project design. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Melbourne, as part of the Wiley - The University of Melbourne agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.

Funding Information:
The Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future project is funded by the Lowitja Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health CRC and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant (1141593). Several authors were supported by NHMRC Fellowships, including Catherine Chamberlain (Career Development Fellowship 1161065), Graham Gee (Early Career Fellowship 1161841) and Fiona Mensah (Career Development Fellowship 1111160).

Funding Information:
The Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future project is funded by the Lowitja Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health CRC and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant (1141593). Several authors were supported by NHMRC Fellowships, including Catherine Chamberlain (Career Development Fellowship 1161065), Graham Gee (Early Career Fellowship 1161841) and Fiona Mensah (Career Development Fellowship 1111160). We sincerely thank all the people who generously shared their expertise in the third Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future workshop held in Melbourne, Australia on 14–15 November 2019. This manuscript presents an overview of the rich knowledge and perspectives shared by workshop participants, including those who gave written permission to be named: Angela Hampton, Shannon Bennetts, Tanisha Springall, Johanna Lynch, Rachel Reilly, Georgie Igoe, Naomi Kikkawa, Helen McLachlan, Deirdre Gartland, Karen Glover, Tanya Hirvonen, Caroline Atkinson. We also acknowledge our partner organisations for their oversight and leadership in this project, including: Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Royal Women's Hospital, Bouverie Family Healing Centre, Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc., Women and Children's Health Network of South Australia, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and Moorundi Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service of South Australia, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University. The Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future project is funded by the Lowitja Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health CRC and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant (1141593). We thank members of the investigator team who are not listed as authors on this manuscript for their oversight and guidance in the project design. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Melbourne, as part of the Wiley - The University of Melbourne agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.

Funding Information:
Catherine Chamberlain, Grant/Award Number: NHMRC Career Development Fellowship 1161065; Fiona Mensah, Grant/Award Number: NHMRC Career Development Fellowship 1111160; Graham Gee, Grant/ Award Number: NHMRC Early Career Fellowship 1161841; Lowitja Institute Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health CRC and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Grant/ Award Number: 1141593

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Child Abuse Review published by Association of Child Protection Professionals and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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