BACKGROUND:
The Aboriginal
health workforce provide responsive, culturally safe
health care. We aimed to co-design a culturally safe
course with and for the Aboriginal
health workforce. We describe the factors which led to the successful co-design, delivery, and evaluation of the "Managing
hepatitis B"
course for the Aboriginal
health workforce.
METHODS:
A Participatory
Action Research approach was used, involving ongoing
consultation to iteratively co-design and then develop
course content, materials, and evaluation tools. An Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander research and
teaching team received
education in
chronic hepatitis B and
teaching methodologies.
Pilot courses were held, in remote
communities of the
Northern Territory, using two-way
learning and teach-
back methods to further develop the
course and assess acceptability and learnings.
Data collection involved
focus group discussions, in-class observations, reflective
analysis, and use of co-designed and assessed evaluation tools.
RESULTS:
Twenty-six participants attended the
pilot courses. Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander facilitators delivered a high proportion of the
course. Evaluations demonstrated high
course acceptability, cultural
safety, and learnings. Key
elements contributing to success and acceptability were acknowledging, respecting, and integrating cultural differences into
education, delivering messaging and key concepts through an Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander lens, using culturally appropriate approaches to
learning including storytelling and visual
teaching methodologies. Evaluation of culturally safe frameworks and findings from the co-design process led to the creation of a conceptual framework, underpinned by meeting people's basic
needs, and offering a safe and comfortable
environment to enable productive
learning with
attention to the following
sustenance, financial security, cultural obligations, and
gender and kinship relationships.
CONCLUSIONS:
Co-designed
education for the Aboriginal
health workforce must embed principles of cultural
safety and meaningful
community consultation to enable an increase in
knowledge and
empowerment. The findings of this
research can be used to guide the design of
future health education for First Nations
health professionals and to other non-dominant
cultures. The
course model has been successfully transferred to other
health issues in the
Northern Territory.