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Colonization is understood as a determinant of health for Indigenous people globally. Understanding colonization through a lens of historical trauma offers new insights into the field of Aboriginal young peoples’ health and wellbeing. Grounded in the Indigenous research paradigm, this study conducted interviews with 15 Aboriginal young people living on Gamilaroi Country, New South Wales, Australia. Three stories are presented to explain how Aboriginal young people understand their resilience, strength and resistance as an integral component of historical trauma. Aboriginal young people identified the need to connect and to continue to draw strength from their ancestors and to be cognizant of the hope and strengths they have as Aboriginal people and describe how this strength can ensure Aboriginal culture is sustained for generations to come.

UNLABELLED: The objective of this review is to use a decolonised, Indigenist lens to understand the definition of solastalgia from an Aboriginal perspective, as a potential emotional response experienced by Aboriginal communities impacted by increasingly frequent natural disasters, such as bushfires. Initial search results revealed a lack of literature referencing solastalgia in an Aboriginal-specific context. Indigenist research methodologies such as Heuristic inquiry and Aboriginal Participatory Action Research (APAR) contributed to the identification of alternative terminologies, which led to the majority of the included publications referring to solastalgia-related concepts, with one included publication mentioning solastalgia specifically. These methods were consequently used to synthesize data, confirm results and contribute to final discussions. Lastly, our results determined that at this stage there is insufficient evidence to conclusively suggest that Aboriginal Peoples in a general sense, experience solastalgia. Acknowledging the ethical dilemma and potential harm of generalising personal philosophies and experiences based on Culture. Thereby, signify the need for further research in this space and in particular, from a decolonised, Indigenist perspective. PREFACE: In the context of this review, we as co-authors are mindful of and respect the tensions or politics associated with proclaiming or discussing the identities of Australia's First Peoples. Therefore, in the context of this review, the often preferred term Aboriginal refers to the traditional owners of Australia. Where possible, traditional place/tribe names are written to acknowledge the ownership and origins of the information referenced within this review. Furthermore, we wish to acknowledge the storeys and traditional knowledge shared by the authors of the studies referenced within this review. These words of Country and Kin have contributed to the development and conceptualisation of this lite

This paper emerged from discussions between the authors about our shared and different perspectives of climate change and its impact on the social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural wellbeing of Aboriginal Peoples and mental health services in a rural region, heavily impacted in recent years by bushfires and floods. Here we discuss, from the lead authors personal perspective as a Gamilaraay Woman, the experience of Solastalgia as a critical impact of climate change on wellbeing. Specifically, we discuss the relationship of a connection to country from a Gamilaraay, first person perspective through a series of diary entries from the lead author. Authors are researchers from different cultural backgrounds, connected through a medical research futures fund research project, to promote resilience within Aboriginal communities and the health services sector in the New England, North West region. The lead author has cultural connections to some of the communities we work with and our work is informed by these connections. While this paper was written to express an Aboriginal perspective on climate change and wellbeing, it reflects our shared perspectives of how disasters such as bushfires impact the wellbeing of Aboriginal peoples. We also explore the connection between the impact of localised, recurring natural disasters and the increasing demands on mental health services in regional and rural areas and discuss what this means with Aboriginal and non-Indigenous mental health nurses and researchers working in regional and rural areas where access to mental health services often poses considerable challenges. From our perspective, mental health research and nursing play an important role in walking alongside Aboriginal Peoples as we explore, respond and create resilience to the ever-present influence that climate change is having on our lives, communities, country and workplaces.

Listening to Country was an arts-led research project where, as an interdisciplinary team of practitioner-researchers, we worked with incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to produce a one-hour immersive audio work based on field recordings of natural environments. The project began with a pilot phase in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC), Australia, to investigate the value of acoustic ecology in promoting wellbeing among women who were experiencing separation from family, culture, and Country (ancestral homelands). The team facilitated a three-week program with the women, using arts-led processes informed by visual art, performance, Indigenous storywork, and dadirri (deep, active listening). The soundscape presented here is a response to the creative process that we led inside the prison and the audio work that the incarcerated women co-created with the research team. The accompanying text describes the background to the original project, the process we undertook in the prison, and our methodology for translating knowledge from the research based on the acoustic and poetic resonances of our experience.

Research shows that prison programs addressing intergenerational trauma and grief, loss of culture and spiritual healing are necessary for incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Indigenous-led or culturally focused programs receive little attention and limited resourcing in Australia’s prison system compared with mainstream rehabilitation programs. Depending on the jurisdiction and prison, such programs can be even less accessible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Listening to Country was an arts-based prison pilot project that was developed by and delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre. It aimed to explore the role of acoustic ecology, soundscape and deep listening in connection to culture and Country. This article presents findings from a process evaluation of that pilot project in order to illustrate the potential for Indigenous-led, culturally focused and culturally safe prison programs to improve wellbeing for incarcerated Indigenous peoples.

Background: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council prescribes midwifery accreditation standards that support students’ development in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and cultural safety to be deemed practice ready. However, the impact of training programmes are not widely explored. Aim: This study aimed to assess the impact of a mandatory 8-week online subject focussed on the development of culturally safe practices among midwifery students. Methods: The Ganngaleh nga Yagaleh cultural safety assessment tool was used to collect online quantitative data from post graduate midwifery students at the commencement and completion of an online subject. Results: Through a purposive sample (n = 10) participant perceptions of culturally safe practices remained relatively unchanged, except for three items of the Ganngaleh nga Yagaleh cultural safety assessment tool. Discussion: Findings demonstrate that when post graduate midwifery students are exposed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives of Australia’s colonial history it impacts their sense of optimism, personal values and beliefs about the healthcare they will provide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, midwifery students who self-identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, reported a decline in optimism when imagining a healthcare system free of racism. Conclusion: The subject did not impact on cultural safety scores. This may be due to prior learning of student midwives. Educators should consider building on prior knowledge in post graduate midwifery to ensure the content is contextualised to midwifery.

Background: Deadly Liver Mob (DLM) is a peer-driven, incentivised health promotion program aimed at increasing understanding of hepatitis C, promoting harm reduction in relation to injecting drug use, and linking participants to screening for hepatitis C, other blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections among Aboriginal people in Western Sydney, NSW. This paper presents the evaluation of a pilot study examining the acceptability of the program as a first step of a scalability assessment. Methods: Deadly Liver Mob operated in co-located needle and syringe programs and sexual health clinics in two sites: (Site 1: two and a half years for 2 days/week; Site 2: 1 year for 1 day per week). Comparisons were made of the proportion of Aboriginal clients (Site 1) and occasions of service provided to Aboriginal clients (Site 2) in the 12 months prior and post-introduction of DLM. Interviews were conducted with 13 staff involved in delivery of DLM and with 19 clients. Results: A total of 655 and 55 Aboriginal clients, respectively, attended Site 1 and Site 2 for health education. The proportion of Aboriginal clients attending both sites was significantly higher during the DLM compared with prior to its implementation. Of those attending for health education, 79 and 73%, respectively, attended screening following education. DLM clients strongly endorsed the program. Some staff were concerned about workforce capacity to effectively engage Aboriginal clients with multiple and complex needs, managing the differing aims of the participating services involved, and about offering of incentives for attendance at health services. Conclusion: While acceptability was high among staff and clients and preliminary results show high engagement with Aboriginal communities, this evaluation of a pilot program raises some issues to consider in scale up of DLM to other sites. The initiation of additional DLM sites should address issues of alignment with governing strategies and work

BACKGROUND: Although cancer in indigenous populations is receiving increased research attention, there is a gap in understanding the particular experiences of Aboriginal men. OBJECTIVE:: The aim of this study is to integrate a range of primary and secondary accounts of the experiences of Aboriginal men in engaging with a cancer diagnosis and treatment in Australia. METHODS:: Secondary analysis of qualitative interviews (n = 54) conducted between 2008 and 2011 revealed recurrent themes regarding the cancer experiences of Aboriginal men in a subset of participant interviews (n = 23). The analysis reports themes that spanned the accounts of Aboriginal men with cancer (n = 6) and those of their carers (n = 12) and clinicians (n = 5). RESULTS:: Recurrent beliefs about the cancer experiences of Aboriginal men included that they “avoid seeking help” for health matters, including cancer symptoms, and to “get on with it,” “not talk about it,” and “manage without fuss” after a cancer diagnosis. Although some men described having to “accept vulnerability,” emphasis was placed on appreciating men’s desire to “protect cultural roles” and “connect with family and culture” throughout care and treatment, including through humor. CONCLUSIONS:: Men’s accounts of the experiences of cancer diagnosis and care reveal more than simply individual challenge, extending to encompass the very real social and economic implications of illness and vulnerability for Aboriginal men today. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:: Aboriginal men could be better engaged with cancer diagnosis and treatment if greater attention was paid to recognizing preferred approaches, including pragmatism and humor, and supporting connections to family and culture throughout the cancer journey.