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

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyexample, one health professional who was normally supportive of the womenand included them where ever possible said usually I sit and talk with thewomen, but one or two have been very verbally abusive lately, there is nomanager here at present to deal with all the issues, I am overworked, and I justdon’t have the time and energy to deal with it all. This very human responsehighlights that sometimes inclusion and exclusion can be complex and linkedto many different factors and changes day by day.Collaborative events such as the Aboriginal Women’s Health Day providedopportunities for inclusion rather than exclusion, regardful and regardless of allof the issues that existed. Health professionals and community women weresupported to work together collaboratively toward a goal in common.However, it was difficult to maintain such collaboration in everyday selectiveprimary care programs.In highlighting these aspects of inclusion and exclusion I am not suggestingthat the Aboriginal health services provided substandard services compared toother health services. Rather I wish to highlight the aspects of any form ofhealth care, in any health service that impacts on access and experiences forAboriginal women. There is sometimes a misconception held by mainstreamservices that Aboriginal health services and Aboriginal health professionalscan automatically provide the health services that Aboriginal clients need andprefer, but this is not possible. Busy work loads, interpersonal conflicts, familyand community relationships, lack of resources, specific program criteria andopening times all impact on health service access. The depth and complexity ofhealth and well being issues are often too much for one health service to dealwith alone, particularly when they are linked to lower social determinants ofheath. In addition, sometimes Aboriginal clients do not wish to see Aboriginalheath professionals because they are too close, or because the issue that theclient wishes to share is so devastating that they do not want to burden anotherAboriginal person with it. All of these reasons combined highlight theimportance of mainstream health and associated services becoming involved inshared responsibility, partnership approaches, working together and mutualobligation as advocated by the National Aboriginal Torres Strait IslanderHealth Council(2004).257