Measuring cultural appropriateness of mental health services for Australian Aboriginal peoples in rural and remote Western Australia: a client/clinician's journey

The mental health of Indigenous peoples in Canada: A critical review of research

Many scholars assert that Indigenous peoples across the globe suffer a disproportionate burden of mental illness. Research indicates that colonialism and its associated processes are important determinants of Indigenous peoples' health internationally. In Canada, despite an abundance of health research documenting inequalities in morbidity and mortality rates for Indigenous peoples, relatively little research has focused on mental health. This paper provides a critical scoping review of the literature related to Indigenous mental health in Canada. We searched eleven databases and two Indigenous health-focused journals for research related to mental health, Indigenous peoples, and Canada, for the years 2006-2016. Over two hundred papers are included in the review and coded according to research theme, population group, and geography. Results demonstrate that the literature is overwhelmingly concerned with issues related to colonialism in mental health services and the prevalence and causes of mental illness among Indigenous peoples in Canada, but with several significant gaps. Mental health research related to Indigenous peoples in Canada overemphasizes suicide and problematic substance use; a more critical use of the concepts of colonialism and historical trauma is advised; and several population groups are underrepresented in research, including Métis peoples and urban or off-reserve Indigenous peoples. The findings are useful in an international context by providing a starting point for discussions, dialogue, and further study regarding mental health research for Indigenous peoples around the world.

Australian Aboriginal peoples and evidence-based policies: closing the gap in social interventions

Australian Aboriginal people are some of the most researched people on earth, yet their life expectancy and other well-being indices lag significantly behind non-Aboriginal Australians. The reach of evidence-based practice (EBP) in social interventions has not yet informed Aboriginal policy even though it is based on clinical expertise and systematic research. This is due to criticism of the processes of EBP, most commonly its supposed limitations and misperceptions, which are easily refuted. EBP continues to be a tool that is needed to inform practice across all disciplines of human service, and needs to be the core value of any intervention with indigenous peoples.

Adapting evidence-based interventions to accommodate cultural differences: where does this leave effectiveness?

Evidence-based interventions are an essential part of delivering contemporary mental health services. Many such interventions, however, are developed with and for mainstream population groups. Practitioners and researchers alike will often adapt tools, practices, processes or programmes to meet the needs of culturally diverse populations groups, but wonder if and how such adaptations will affect outcomes. This paper considers the processes by which evidence-based interventions can be adapted by health professionals in any context; and includes an example of a successful cultural adaptation to an evidence-based intervention. The successful implementation of the Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid programme in Australia illustrates the potential for adapted interventions to support improvements in the health outcomes of people from culturally diverse backgrounds. The paper concludes by outlining the steps mental health professionals can take when adapting evidence-based interventions for use in their own workplace settings.

Stereotyping stigma: undergraduate health students' perceptions at handover

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized that errors in communication are one of the leading causes of adverse patient outcomes. Consequently, the WHO developed the High 5s Project to review, among other variables, handover of patients between shifts, professionals, and organizations. Seven countries were involved in the initial project. Australia responded by using the ISOBAR (Identify, Situation, Observations, Background, Agreed plan, and Read-back) tool as a template. However, none of the countries involved considered the social and emotional effects of handover on the staff or patients, although research has demonstrated that attitudes and values can be handed over from one nurse to another during this process. This article shows how the nurse who hands over care from one shift to the next can transfer stigma and labeling and offers suggestions for nurse educators and clinicians to apply national standards and core values to clinical practice and education.