Abstract
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience a greater range of health and social disadvantages compared to other Australians. Wellbeing is a culturally-bound construct, and to date, a national evidence base around the components of wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is lacking. Understanding and measurement of wellbeing for this population is critical in achieving health equity. This paper aims to identify and describe the foundations of wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. This national qualitative study was underpinned by an Indigenist research approach which privileges the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were purposively recruited from around Australia between September 2017 and September 2018 to participate in Yarning Circles, led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers. Yarning Circles were audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed. A Collaborative Yarning Methodology was used, which incorporated reflexive thematic analysis to identify and describe the foundations of wellbeing reported by participants. A total of 359 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults participated. Our analysis revealed five foundations of wellbeing: belonging and connection; holistic health; purpose and control; dignity and respect; and basic needs. These foundations were deeply interwoven by three interconnected aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life: family, community and culture. The findings of this study will substantially aid our efforts to develop a new wellbeing measure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. The iterative Indigenist methods used in this study provide a robust research methodology for conducting large-scale, nationally-relevant qualitative research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Policies and practices that are informed by our results have the potential to address outcomes that are meaningful for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 6193 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-21 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Jun 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding: The WM2Adults Project is funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant (#1125434). This study was also supported by the NHMRC funded Centre of Research Excellence in Targeted Approaches to Improve Cancer Services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (TACTICS; #1153027). G.G. was funded by an NHMRC Investigator Award (#1176651). A.G. was supported by an NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship (#1168150) and a TACTICS Postgraduate Top-up Scholarship (TACTICS #1153027). T.L.B. was supported by an ARC Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (DAATSIA, IN190100050) funded by the Australian Government. J.C. was funded by an NHMRC Research Fellowship (#1058244). L.J.W. was funded by an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (#1142035). A.T. was funded by an NHMRC Investigator Award (#1197324109). The funders have no role in study design; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of data; nor in writing of any reports; or the decision to submit the reports for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
