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

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellythe day. There was general understanding that this was not intentional but theresult of staff changes and challenges, but it did mark the end of an activecollaborative partnership between the school and the health service.Also in term one 2007 was the planned SE&X youth worker training. Plans in2006 involved arrangements for four high school students to attend as part oftheir year eleven and twelve studies. The course is nationally accredited andthey would get SACE points. One of those interested in participating was ayoung Aboriginal man who was hearing impaired, and this would require theemployment of a sign interpreter. Early discussions were that perhaps thecourse could be the start of a wider peer education program.Unfortunately a week before the course was to run (having had the dateschanged once already) the school rang to say that neither staff nor studentswere able to be released as the day chosen for the course was too disruptive fortheir curriculum, and could the day be changed again. Unfortunately that wasnot possible for the health services staff and the school withdrew from theprogram. As this was the end of my PAR I was not able to follow up with otheroptions, but I did refer the school on to the sexual health agency for furtherdiscussion. Happily, when I was providing a contraceptive / STI discussion to agroup of community services students as part of my community health work, Irealised one of them was the young Aboriginal man who was interested in theSE&X course, and he was able to pick up some information with the assistanceof a sign interpreter. He may yet do the course.The significance of our collaborative researchCo-researcher reflectionsAt the end of our collaboration, I asked co-researchers how effective ourresearch together had been in their opinion. The Aboriginal Education Workerwho was arguably the person most connected with the young women, said itwas a useful program that introduced new ideas, built networks between ‘thegirls’, the health service and the school, and also increased everyone’sknowledge of health concerns and looking after oneself. Other education staffdiscussed that the collaboration had increased their and the young women’sknowledge of health issues and how to access services.289