TY - JOUR
T1 - The characteristics, implementation and effects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health promotion tools
T2 - A systematic literature search
AU - McCalman, Janya
AU - Tsey, Komla
AU - Bainbridge, Roxanne
AU - Rowley, Kevin
AU - Percival, Nicole Ann
AU - O'donoghue, Lynette Ruth
AU - Brands, Jenny
AU - Whiteside, Mary
AU - Judd, Jenni
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Background: Health promotion by and with Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander (hereafter Indigenous) Australians is critically important
given a wide gap in health parity compared to other Australians. The
development and implementation of step-by-step guides, instruments, packages,
frameworks or resources has provided a feasible and low-resource strategy for
strengthening evidence-informed health promotion practice. Yet there has been
little assessment of where and how these tools are implemented or their
effectiveness. This paper reviews the characteristics, implementation and
effects of Indigenous health promotion tools.
Methods: Indigenous health
promotion tools were identified through a systematic literature search
including a prior scoping study, eight databases, references of other reviews
and the authors' knowledge (n = 1494). Documents in the peer reviewed and grey
literature were included if they described or evaluated tools designed,
recommended or used for strengthening Indigenous Australian health promotion.
Eligible publications were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and documented
tools classified according to their characteristics, implementation and
effects. Quality was appraised using the Dictionary for Effective Public Health
Practice Project (EPHPP) and Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) tools for
quantitative and qualitative studies respectively.
Results: The review found that Indigenous health promotion tools were
widely available. Of 74 publications that met inclusion criteria, sixty (81%) documented
tools developed specifically for the Indigenous Australian population. All
tools had been developed in reference to evidence; but only 22/74 (30%)
publications specified intended or actual implementation, and only 11/74 (15%)
publications evaluated impacts of the implemented tools. Impacts included
health, environmental, community, organisational and health care improvements.
The quality of impact evaluations was strong for only five (7%) studies.
Conclusions: The small number and generally moderate quality of
implementation and evaluation studies means that little is known about how
tools work to strengthen Indigenous health promotion practice. The findings
suggest that rather than continuing to invest in tool development,
practitioners, policy makers and researchers could evaluate the implementation
and effects of existing tools and publish the results. There is a need for
long-term investment in research to review the current use of health promotion
tools and the factors that are likely to enhance their implementation.
AB - Background: Health promotion by and with Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander (hereafter Indigenous) Australians is critically important
given a wide gap in health parity compared to other Australians. The
development and implementation of step-by-step guides, instruments, packages,
frameworks or resources has provided a feasible and low-resource strategy for
strengthening evidence-informed health promotion practice. Yet there has been
little assessment of where and how these tools are implemented or their
effectiveness. This paper reviews the characteristics, implementation and
effects of Indigenous health promotion tools.
Methods: Indigenous health
promotion tools were identified through a systematic literature search
including a prior scoping study, eight databases, references of other reviews
and the authors' knowledge (n = 1494). Documents in the peer reviewed and grey
literature were included if they described or evaluated tools designed,
recommended or used for strengthening Indigenous Australian health promotion.
Eligible publications were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and documented
tools classified according to their characteristics, implementation and
effects. Quality was appraised using the Dictionary for Effective Public Health
Practice Project (EPHPP) and Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) tools for
quantitative and qualitative studies respectively.
Results: The review found that Indigenous health promotion tools were
widely available. Of 74 publications that met inclusion criteria, sixty (81%) documented
tools developed specifically for the Indigenous Australian population. All
tools had been developed in reference to evidence; but only 22/74 (30%)
publications specified intended or actual implementation, and only 11/74 (15%)
publications evaluated impacts of the implemented tools. Impacts included
health, environmental, community, organisational and health care improvements.
The quality of impact evaluations was strong for only five (7%) studies.
Conclusions: The small number and generally moderate quality of
implementation and evaluation studies means that little is known about how
tools work to strengthen Indigenous health promotion practice. The findings
suggest that rather than continuing to invest in tool development,
practitioners, policy makers and researchers could evaluate the implementation
and effects of existing tools and publish the results. There is a need for
long-term investment in research to review the current use of health promotion
tools and the factors that are likely to enhance their implementation.
KW - Australia
KW - epidemiology
KW - health promotion
KW - human
KW - Oceanic ancestry group
KW - procedures
KW - standards
KW - Health Promotion
KW - Humans
KW - Oceanic Ancestry Group
U2 - 10.1186/1471-2458-14-712
DO - 10.1186/1471-2458-14-712
M3 - Article
VL - 14
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - BMC Public Health
JF - BMC Public Health
SN - 1471-2458
M1 - 712
ER -