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

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyfactors that came together to make colonisation, inequity, discrimination andexclusion possible. The connection between these factors and the resultingexperiences of poorer health and well being of Aboriginal women and theirfamilies is then made. I argue that colonising beliefs and practices have alsoimpacted on health care policies and practices. While Governmentinterventions may intend to resolve issues, they fail to account for the impactof colonisation and historical impacts, and therefore perpetuate the issues.These past and ongoing dynamics reinforce the need for knowledge sharing,working together and collaboratively addressing issues in health care. Figure2.1 below provides a visual overview of how the factors discussed in thischapter relate to the central themes.Aboriginal Women’s ExperiencesHighlight the need for…Western knowledge has largelydominated Australian policies andgovernment and health care practices.Aboriginal knowledge generally ignoredKnowledgeSharingAboriginal people often excluded,blocked, not recognised, and under paidfor their contributions. Effectivecollaboration and equal decision makinghave been rare, but highly effective.WorkingTogetherLand rights, unequal social determinantsof health, ongoing colonisation,discrimination and exclusions, unhealedpastAddressingIssuesFigure 2.1 Aboriginal women’s experiences highlighting the need forknowledge sharing, working together and addressing issuesThis leads to questions of how Australian health policies, systems andprofessionals have responded to Aboriginal health and social inequities inAustralia. In the next chapter I discuss the development of primary health care,Aboriginal health and women’s health in community health settings in Australia63