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

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyup, and still remain culturally safe for the young women involved. An adaptedform of Ganma knowledge sharing facilitated by trusted people such as theAboriginal Education Worker, enabled knowledge sharing and collaborationtook place between the young women, the Aboriginal health service andmyself.Knowledge sharing between adults in this collaboration area was a simplerprocess. Aboriginal Elder women and parents, health and educationprofessionals became involved in interviews and focus groups, discussing whatthey believed the needs and priorities for young Aboriginal women were.Specific issues were raised relating to ongoing effects of colonisation,discrimination and exclusions and how these affected young people today. Theeducation professionals discussed specific strategies introduced by the schoolto address these issues.Working togetherCollaboration across sectorsThis Collaboration Area explored how to create effective collaborativeprograms across services. Co-researchers identified the importance ofinvolving at least one representative from each agency early and preferablythroughout the planning process. This person could raise organisational andpersonal priorities and co-create a collaborative goal across organisations anddisciplines. We discovered the importance of including management personnelearly in the planning process to ensure organisational support. Ourcollaborative and responsive PAR cycle of Look and Listen, Think and Discussand Take Action, underpinned by Ganma democratic knowledge sharing andDadirri deep listening, provided the means for effective work across sectors. Itenabled us to meet a diverse array of needs and priorities in creative andflexible ways. For example, the young Aboriginal women’s get togetherenabled one youth worker to finish her sexual health training, enabledAboriginal health programs to be evaluated creatively, increased the youngAboriginal women’s knowledge of sexual health, widened friendship circles,improved networking across agencies, provided positive role models andpromoted local Aboriginal health services.292