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

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyidentified unsafe partying and risk taking behaviours as a major health concern(HS I3).All co-researchers spoke about issues related to access, in that it was difficultfor young women using health services for the first time, and that some hadconcerns about confidentiality, the stigma of attending a sexual health clinicand/or difficulty getting there. One participant explained that some of thestudents rarely caught buses into the city, and so city youth services werelargely inaccessible for them. Bus services across suburbs were minimal, andso being able to access services locally was of benefit, as long as it could bedone confidentially. Our professional experiences within Shine SA sexualhealth clinics were that young Aboriginal women tend to first come withfriends and sometimes with relatives like a mother, auntie, grandmother, sisteror cousin. Sometimes they come with a student counsellor or youth worker.Very rarely do they come alone (reflections on ten years of my clinicalservice).Ways forwardWhen discussing possible ways that school based education and health servicescould work together, all five co-researchers were in favour of closer workingrelationships between the two sectors. They indicated that this would helpyoung Aboriginal women get to know health staff, increasing the probability ofyoung Aboriginal women attending these services if they already knewsomeone there.There was also general support for peer support programs as an effectivestrategy in improving young Aboriginal women’s health and well-being. Oneteacher said that peer support programs were the most important aspect of herteaching career. She described peer support as;Working alongside them as they support each other to make a differencein their lives; the content is not life changing, the process, the increase inconfidence is. It is important to support them, train them up, and helpthem develop skills that will enable them to work in a wider range ofenvironments.279