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Evidence indicates that people in rural settings may experience difficulties in accessing health services, mainly specialist services. Caring for a child with a chronic health condition in a rural environment can present these mothers' challenges. This article reports one of four finding themes from a more extensive qualitative study on rural mothers' experiences of providing care for a child with a chronic health condition. Using hermeneutic phenomenological methods, narrative accounts were collected from 17 rural mothers of children with a chronic health condition in 2018. Analysis revealed that these mothers experienced emotional and physical isolation resulting in an overall theme reported within this article: " Alone in the Outback " : isolation, capturing rural mother's feelings of isolation; comprising three subthemes: On the fringe ; There is no shelter; and Choosing their own direction . Their experiences of caring highlighted a need for additional local carer support services and resources. Nurses can assist in supporting rural mothers through facilitating local social support networks enabling women to connect with others in similar caregiving situations. This study reports following the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research guidelines (Tong et al., 2007). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female incarceration is rising steeply in Australia and other high-income countries. The majority of incarcerated women are mothers. Their children represent a particularly vulnerable group, often subject to adverse experiences due to their family's disadvantaged circumstances involving inadequate housing, food insecurity, poverty, poor health, a lack of personal safety due to violence and resulting trauma. This qualitative study explores parenting experiences of incarcerated mothers separated from their children. Interviews involved 65 mothers in three Australian prisons and 19 stakeholders providing correctional services and support for incarcerated women. Data were analysed using interpretive description. Mothers' accounts highlighted frustrations resulting from trying to maintain relationships with their children, often exacerbating their separation and compounding parenting difficulties. Two major themes emerged from the data: 'protecting their children' and 'at the mercy of the system'. Mothers described how they tried to protect their children from the consequences of their incarceration, yet many of the correctional system processes and procedures made it even harder to maintain connection. Incarcerated mothers need support in their parenting role. Ideally, this support should commence during incarceration. Further, changes within prison routines could enhance mothers' efforts to keep in contact with their children, through visits and phone calls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Indigenous Peoples are experiencing the ongoing effects of colonization. This phenomenon, historical trauma (HT), helps to address the current ill-health disparity. Aim of this scoping review was to identify sources of evidence available to understand the impact of HT on Indigenous young peoples. Method: A scoping review was conducted on available evidence-based literature. Article quality was assessed using validated quality appraisal tools. Synthesis was conducted with predefined levels of impact. Results: Consistent with the literature, the themes and levels of impact were interrelated. Despite this, studies predominately reported a singular focus with limited discussion of protective factors. Discussion: HT continues to have a profound impact on Indigenous young peoples across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Protective factors for HT were evident within Indigenous research designs. Future research should ensure a multilevel focus to explore intergenerational strength and how this influences culturally congruent health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As incarceration rates rise worldwide, increasing numbers of parents are separated from their children. Researchers have studied the psychosocial impact on inmates and their families extensively. However, few researchers have examined how their own perspectives affect the collection and interpretation of data, specifically about parenting in correctional settings. This paper consider methodological implications of conducting research with incarcerated mothers and fathers, employing critical reflexivity to explore researchers' individual and collective experiences in a study in Australian correctional facilities. Using ourselves as informants, we examine how the context and life experiences of 'researcher' and 'researched' interact during interviews in a unique and emotionally charged environment. Correctional research requires careful adaptations to collect meaningful data from inmates and recognise their vulnerability as parents. The emotional content of interviews also has implications for analysing and interpreting research data. Our focus on interviewees as mothers and fathers, rather than as offenders, generated greater understanding of the needs of parents in custody. Recognising researchers' feelings, experiences and perspectives on parenthood can enrich research with families affected by the criminal justice and child protection systems. These insights can also inform the understanding and practice of social workers, health practitioners, educators and students who work with marginalised parents and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the importance of fathering to the well-being and development of children, paternal incarceration has a major impact on children and families. Drawing on interviews with 64 incarcerated fathers in New South Wales, Australia, this article explores their experiences. The men’s childhood familial separation and disconnection is frequently repeated in adulthood, with limited contact with their own families even when not in custody. Despite barriers to connection, the interviewees express strong aspirations to be “good” fathers and to achieve a “better life” for their children. The absence of stable models of responsive fathering in early life is a common theme that has implications for the development of education and support programs for imprisoned fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-documented health disparities between the Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous population mandates a comprehensive response from health professionals. This article outlines the approach taken by one faculty of health in a large urban Australian university to enhance cultural competence in students from a variety of fields. Here we outline a collaborative and deeply respectful process of Indigenous and non-Indigenous university staff collectively developing a model that has framed the embedding of a common faculty Indigenous graduate attribute across the curriculum. Through collaborative committee processes, the development of the principles of “Respect; Engagement and sharing; Moving forward” (REM) has provided both a framework and way of “being and doing” our work. By drawing together the recurring principles and qualities that characterize Indigenous cultural competence the result will be students and staff learning and bringing into their lives and practice, important Indigenous cultural understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Migrating and establishing a new life in another culture can have diverse health effects especially for women. This article explores the struggles and social adjustment issues that might constitute negatively to the health of West African migrant women living in Australia. Design: Qualitative storytelling. Audiotaped voluntary stories from 20 West African migrant women living in Sydney, Australia were transcribed and analyzed. Findings: Three themes are presented for discussion: (1) But it is different here: life in a new country; (2) I have to do it all by myself: communal versus individual living; and (3) They don’t listen to parents: perceived threats to the family unit. Conclusion/Implication for Practice: The demand for and the importance of nurses and midwives in supporting migrant families is demonstrated by findings suggesting that social adjustment into the Australian culture has a significant impact on both the nuclear and extended family unit of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize and summarize existing evidence for implementing and evaluating Cultural Safety initiatives in Australian hospitals for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The rationale for this work was to establish guidelines for best practice in providing culturally safe care across hospital and health services.A systematic search guided by PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews was conducted across five databases: CINAHL, Scopus, MEDLINE, Embase, and Informit. Reference lists and citations of eligible studies were also examined. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were in English and discussed the implementation and/or evaluation of Cultural Safety initiatives in Australian hospitals. Evaluations assessing both health care staff and patient perspectives were included. Studies were excluded if they presented future implementation protocols or initiatives among health care students. No date limiters were applied due to the small body of available literature.Nine studies met the criteria and were included in this review. Five themes emerged: (a) process of implementation; (b) process of evaluation; (c) change in health professional’s behavior; (d) change in patient behavior; and (e) future recommendations.Validated implementation frameworks and evaluation tools are needed for integrating Cultural Safety initiatives into Australian hospital settings. This review has highlighted that despite the availability of evidence-based tools, their use was lacking. This scoping review also highlighted that evaluation of Cultural Safety initiatives is primarily focused on the attitudes and knowledge of health professionals, rather than patient experience. As Cultural Safety is determined by recipients of care, future evaluation of initiatives should prioritize patient perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]