Revitalising Health For All: Learning from Comprehensive Primary Health Care Experiences - Australian Indigenous Project (CAAC Site)
CRCAH Project No: SD326
Administering Organisation:
Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC)
Project Leader:
Stephanie Bell, CAAC
Contact Details:
Email: stephanie.bell@caac.org.au
Team Members:
Donna Ah Chee, Gai Wilson, Clive Rosewarne, John Liddle, Korey Summers
CRCAH Program Manager:
Scott Davis
Social Determinants of Health
Funding Sources:
- CRCAH
- Teasdale-Corti Global Health Research Partnership Program
Partners Involved:
- Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
- CRC for Aboriginal Health
Project summary:
This small research project is part of a larger international project, the Revitalising Health For All project funded by the Teasdale-Corti Global Health Research Partnership Program. The CRC for Aboriginal Health is coordinating and co-funding the Australian arm of this study, which aims to document and highlight the role of comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) in the 21st century.
The CRC for Aboriginal Health has helped establish a regional steering committee to oversee the Australian research, which looks at the significant role that Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services play both in improving health outcomes and in addressing the social determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. The regional committee has invited three Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services to participate in the research, and this project looks specifically at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC) Ingkintja Male Health Program in Alice Springs. The other two projects - the Utopia site and the Melbourne site - are covered in separate web summaries (see links below).
The overall research question for this project is: How does the CAAC Male Health Program reflect the social determinants of health affecting Aboriginal male health, as articulated by Aboriginal males in the Alice Springs region?
Key Issues:
The project aims to identify and describe:
- How the history of the CAAC Male Health Program reflects the health needs and the social determinants of health of Aboriginal males, as articulated by Aboriginal males, in Alice Springs.
- How social and political issues (local, State and national) shape the capacity of the Male Health Program to address these social determinants of Aboriginal male health.
- How the CAAC management and the Male Health Program staff have understood these social determinants of health.
- The strategies aimed at influencing these social determinants of Aboriginal male health that are utilised by the Male Health Program.
- The enablers and the barriers to the implementation of these strategies.
Summary of Project Implementation:
This research is employing a case study approach. Qualitative and, to a lesser extent, quantitative methods are being used to develop the in-depth case study. The research includes in-depth interviews with key informants, a consultation meeting with users of the Male Health Program and wider community consultations. The project will provide research training to a trainee Aboriginal Research Officer and is led by an internally appointed all-Aboriginal Steering Committee.
Summary of Projected Outcomes:
It is anticipated that the project will lead to:
- An increase in the capacity of the CAAC Male Health Program to address the social determinants of health of Aboriginal males in Alice Springs.
- A documented history of the Male Health Program and the particular context in which it was developed.
- A context-specific contribution to the Australian literature related to the implementation of strategies aimed at addressing the social determinants of Aboriginal male health.
- A context-specific contribution to the international research project ‘Revitalising Health for All: Learning from Comprehensive Primary Health Care Experiences’.
- Identification of other important areas worthy of study.
- Increased capacity of the trainee Aboriginal Research Officer to undertake further research projects.
Timeline:
The project commenced in March 2009. Ethics approval was granted for the research in July 2009 and the project is due for completion in December 2009.
Related Publications/Links:
Melbourne site - CRCAH project summary
Utopia site - CRCAH project summary
http://www.globalhealthequity.ca/projects/proj_revitalizing/index.shtml
[Page last updated 15.10.2009]