Case story

Identifying Community Groups for a Study in South West Sydney

This story explains how researchers in Sydney identified different stakeholder groups. As the study began, the groups were involved in different ways, using strategies that matched their project roles.

Over the past thirteen years, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Research Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity have been working with the local Aboriginal community to study the health, development and service use of Aboriginal infants and children in the Campbelltown area of south west Sydney. Data are being collected in a longitudinal cohort study, known as the Gudaga Study, of 150 infants and children.

At the start of the study, the researchers identified four relevant community groups in south west Sydney:

• Gudaga mothers and their children
• the local Aboriginal community of Campbelltown
• local Aboriginal healthcare workers
• Aboriginal health organisations.

They identified two other relevant groups with strong Aboriginal representation (mainstream academic and health organisations) and other research activities in the region that had similar aims. Various strategies were used to engage the groups.

At the start of the project the research team members who had been advocating for local services for a number of years encouraged local Aboriginal Health Workers and managers to be involved in the research. The two Aboriginal academics on the team sought to earn the respect of the community in little ways – such as travelling long distances to community meetings, and by spending time talking with key Aboriginal leaders. Project Officer positions were filled by local Aboriginal mothers. An informal mothers and grandmothers group was formed. The staff at Tharawal [local Aboriginal Medical Service] played a key role in project management and support - the Corporation’s CEO became an Associate Investigator on the project.

The project’s monthly bulletins are tabled at each Board meeting. Members of the research team meet with the Board on a semi-regular basis to keep them informed of progress. Whenever possible they attend events hosted by Tharawal.

Academic team members work at UNSW. Project Officers are based at Sydney South West Area Health Service which also provides a car for home visits and access to paediatricians. Strategies are being developed to share experiences and study findings with other researchers in the region (adapted from Knight et al. 2007:7).

See bibliography for full references.