“We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care
Background Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) are core providers of primary health care (PHC) for First Nations peoples in Australia. However, the national AHW workforce is aging and in short supply. There is a poor understanding of the factors contributing to this attrition from the perspectives of A...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301 2024-09-30T14:35:08+00:00 “We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care Jeyakumar, Ragavi Patel, Bindu Coombes, Julieann Madden, Ty Joshi, Rohina University of New South Wales 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Public Health volume 10 ISSN 2296-2565 journal-article 2023 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301 2024-09-17T04:12:39Z Background Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) are core providers of primary health care (PHC) for First Nations peoples in Australia. However, the national AHW workforce is aging and in short supply. There is a poor understanding of the factors contributing to this attrition from the perspectives of AHWs themselves. This study aimed to systematically explore the current functioning and sustainability of AHWs in NSW PHC by amplifying AHW voices. Materials and methods This study was co-designed with three Aboriginal health services in NSW. It included a literature review exploring the role of AHWs in NSW, and yarns with AHWs and their supervisors at participating services. Yarning is an Indigenous approach to knowledge generation centered upon storytelling. The yarns were guided by the USAID-developed Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix. Yarn transcripts were analyzed using cyclical thematic analysis to identify key facilitators and challenges for AHW practice. Results The yarns highlighted five categories of change that are required to ensure AHW sustainability: community connection, recognition, value, support, and an inclusive health system. The yarns revealed that there are both service- and system-level factors influencing each of these categories of change. Conclusions The lived experiences of AHWs in NSW emphasize five key categories of change that are required to ensure workforce sustainability. It is evident that a system-wide paradigm shift to better include holistic approaches to health is necessary to truly ensure sustainability. Co-designing similar studies with ACCHOs across NSW can help inform this change. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Frontiers (Publisher) Frontiers in Public Health 10 |
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Background Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) are core providers of primary health care (PHC) for First Nations peoples in Australia. However, the national AHW workforce is aging and in short supply. There is a poor understanding of the factors contributing to this attrition from the perspectives of AHWs themselves. This study aimed to systematically explore the current functioning and sustainability of AHWs in NSW PHC by amplifying AHW voices. Materials and methods This study was co-designed with three Aboriginal health services in NSW. It included a literature review exploring the role of AHWs in NSW, and yarns with AHWs and their supervisors at participating services. Yarning is an Indigenous approach to knowledge generation centered upon storytelling. The yarns were guided by the USAID-developed Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix. Yarn transcripts were analyzed using cyclical thematic analysis to identify key facilitators and challenges for AHW practice. Results The yarns highlighted five categories of change that are required to ensure AHW sustainability: community connection, recognition, value, support, and an inclusive health system. The yarns revealed that there are both service- and system-level factors influencing each of these categories of change. Conclusions The lived experiences of AHWs in NSW emphasize five key categories of change that are required to ensure workforce sustainability. It is evident that a system-wide paradigm shift to better include holistic approaches to health is necessary to truly ensure sustainability. Co-designing similar studies with ACCHOs across NSW can help inform this change. |
author2 |
University of New South Wales |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jeyakumar, Ragavi Patel, Bindu Coombes, Julieann Madden, Ty Joshi, Rohina |
spellingShingle |
Jeyakumar, Ragavi Patel, Bindu Coombes, Julieann Madden, Ty Joshi, Rohina “We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care |
author_facet |
Jeyakumar, Ragavi Patel, Bindu Coombes, Julieann Madden, Ty Joshi, Rohina |
author_sort |
Jeyakumar, Ragavi |
title |
“We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care |
title_short |
“We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care |
title_full |
“We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care |
title_fullStr |
“We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care |
title_full_unstemmed |
“We're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: Exploring the role of Aboriginal Health Workers in primary health care |
title_sort |
“we're on the ground, we know what needs to be done”: exploring the role of aboriginal health workers in primary health care |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301/full |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
Frontiers in Public Health volume 10 ISSN 2296-2565 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010301 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Public Health |
container_volume |
10 |
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1811638498164211712 |