Moving Forward Together in Aboriginal Women's Health: - Theses ...

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyactually works. There is a lot of local knowledge and resources that getoverlooked.Yes, said one Elder Aboriginal woman who used to be an Aboriginal health worker,if one stays long enough, one sees the same programs cycling around again andagainAnother Aboriginal Elder woman added;Just when we get to know a service, the workers move or get shifted, or theprogram gets shut down. Then the next one starts and we wonder how longthat will keep going, before it is shut down too. It takes us a while to get toknow people and services, to trust them. Some of us don’t trust easily, toomany things have happened to us in the past.(Gilles Plains Community Consultation, Term 1 2005) .Together we reflected on current health provision trends and whether they weremaking a positive difference in Aboriginal women’s lives. Many of the women inthis consultation group were older and had seen a range of policies, programs andpractices come and go; some more effective and responsive to Aboriginal needsthan others. One commented it is like being a kangaroo, sitting and watching thepassing parade of health care, wondering whether to come out and engage, or staysafely in the distance. Over the last forty years, a range of policies, programs andstrategies have developed across federal and state government sectors and healthservices, each with their own underlying philosophies (National Aboriginal TorresStrait Islander Health Council 2004). One of the major difficulties for healthprofessionals is finding ways to meet local Aboriginal women’s health and wellbeing needs regardless and regardful of local community, organisational, state andfederal policy and program, and practice changes.The urgent need for effective health careThe urgent need for quality, effective and responsive health care for Aboriginalwomen and their families cannot be over stated. As highlighted in the 2007/8‘Close the Gap Campaign’ 2 (Oxfam Australia 2007) and the National StrategicFramework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 2003-2013 (2004),2 Close the Gap – an Australian campaign closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation (25 years).19