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

Moving Forward TogetherJanet KellyAddressing issuesLike a kangaroo sitting and watching the passing parade of health careThe Aboriginal women discussed their experiences of seeking, and beinginvolved in, a diverse and constantly changing range of health care programsand services at the Gilles Plains Community Campus over the previous five,ten and twenty years. The women had seen many policies, programs andhealth professionals come and go, some of which they judged as being moreuseful than others. The Aboriginal women had remained in place while thehealth system swirled and changed around them. This situation challenges thecommonly held view that Aboriginal people are transient and the healthsystem is stable. The Aboriginal women discussed being positioned like akangaroo watching the passing parade of health care, policies, practices andprofessionals. Sometimes they sat back and watched what was happening, likea kangaroo sits on the edge of the scrub, watching, waiting and judging if orwhen it was safe to become involved. At other times they chose to activelyparticipate in programs, particularly holistic programs focusing social andemotional, physical and mental health and well being such as the AboriginalMum’s Group, the Gardening Group 45 and Family Well Being. Unfortunatelytheir experience was that just when they were getting comfortable in aprogram, it stopped, or the staff members changed, and they had to reconnectand learn to trust all over again.Some of the women discussed experiencing very deep feelings of loss andanger during health service changes. One woman spoke of continued changesbeing like another bag of poisoned flour, rising up our hopes and thendropping them down again. For her, the link between past colonisingexperiences and present day practices was very strong. This highlights thatwhile colonisation, exclusion and discrimination is considered old news bymainstream Australia, it is very much part of the living memory that influencesAboriginal people’s lives, experiences and decisions today. When workingwith health professionals in Collaboration Area Two I discovered that they alsoexpressed concern about the constant health system changes and the impact45 The Gilles Plains Gardening Group is one activity that has remained in place as a holisticprogram for over ten years.204