TY - JOUR
T1 - Living with Rheumatic Heart Disease at the Intersection of Biomedical and Aboriginal Worldviews
AU - Haynes, Emma
AU - Marawili, Minitja
AU - Marika, Makungun B.
AU - Mitchell, Alice
AU - Walker, Roz
AU - Katzenellenbogen, Judith M.
AU - Bessarab, Dawn
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship, the National Health and Medical Research Council End Rheumatic Heart Disease Centre for Research Excellence (ENDRHDCRE) project grant (GNT1080401); the National Health and Medical Research Council 'Improving Health Outcomes in the Tropical North: A Multidisciplinary Collaboration (HOT NORTH)(GNT1131932)'; a Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases top-up scholarship (PR020343); and Peter and Anne Hector Award (Telethon Kids Institute (University of Western Australia)). JK is supported by an Australian Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship) (102043). Additionally, the Yol?u co-researchers were funded through the HOTNORTH and the EndRHD Centre for Research Excellence.
PY - 2022/4/1
Y1 - 2022/4/1
N2 - Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) significantly impacts the lives of First Nations Australians. Failure to eliminate RHD is in part attributed to healthcare strategies that fail to understand the lived experience of RHD. To rectify this, a PhD study was undertaken in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, combining Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing with interviews (24 participants from clinical and community settings) and participant observation to privilege Aboriginal voices, including the interpretations and experiences of Aboriginal co-researchers (described in the adjunct article). During analysis, Aboriginal co-researchers identified three interwoven themes: Maintaining good feelings; creating clear understanding (from good information); and choosing a good djalkiri (path). These affirm a worldview that prioritises relationships, positive emotions and the wellbeing of family/community. The findings demonstrate the inter-connectedness of knowledge, choice and behaviour that become increasingly complex in stressful and traumatic health, socioeconomic, political, historical and cultural contexts. Not previously heard in the RHD domain, the findings reveal fundamental differences between Aboriginal and biomedical worldviews contributing to the failure of current approaches to communicating health messages. Mitigating this, Aboriginal co-researchers provided targeted recommendations for culturally responsive health encounters, including: Communicating to create positive emotions; building trust; and providing family and community data and health messages (rather than individualistic).
AB - Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) significantly impacts the lives of First Nations Australians. Failure to eliminate RHD is in part attributed to healthcare strategies that fail to understand the lived experience of RHD. To rectify this, a PhD study was undertaken in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, combining Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing with interviews (24 participants from clinical and community settings) and participant observation to privilege Aboriginal voices, including the interpretations and experiences of Aboriginal co-researchers (described in the adjunct article). During analysis, Aboriginal co-researchers identified three interwoven themes: Maintaining good feelings; creating clear understanding (from good information); and choosing a good djalkiri (path). These affirm a worldview that prioritises relationships, positive emotions and the wellbeing of family/community. The findings demonstrate the inter-connectedness of knowledge, choice and behaviour that become increasingly complex in stressful and traumatic health, socioeconomic, political, historical and cultural contexts. Not previously heard in the RHD domain, the findings reveal fundamental differences between Aboriginal and biomedical worldviews contributing to the failure of current approaches to communicating health messages. Mitigating this, Aboriginal co-researchers provided targeted recommendations for culturally responsive health encounters, including: Communicating to create positive emotions; building trust; and providing family and community data and health messages (rather than individualistic).
KW - Aboriginal Australians
KW - Aboriginal ways of knowing
KW - Being and doing
KW - Biomedical worldview
KW - Colonisation
KW - Empathy
KW - First Nations Australians
KW - Indigenous Australians
KW - Rheumatic heart disease
KW - Wellbeing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126480620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19084650
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19084650
M3 - Article
C2 - 35457520
AN - SCOPUS:85126480620
VL - 19
SP - 1
EP - 20
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1660-4601
IS - 8
M1 - 4650
ER -