IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i4p2141-d503825.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Connection to... Addressing Digital Inequities in Supporting the Well-Being of Young Indigenous Australians in the Wake of COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Roz Walker

    (Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
    School of Indigenous Studies, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia)

  • Kim Usher

    (Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
    School of Health, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia)

  • Debra Jackson

    (Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
    Susan Wakil School of Nursing, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia)

  • Corinne Reid

    (Chancellory, Victoria University, Footscray, VIC 3011, Australia)

  • Katrina Hopkins

    (Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia)

  • Carrington Shepherd

    (Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
    Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia)

  • Reakeeta Smallwood

    (Susan Wakil School of Nursing, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
    School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia)

  • Rhonda Marriott

    (Ngangk Yira Research Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia)

Abstract

(1) Background: This article examines whether connection to digital technologies helps connect young Indigenous people in Australia to culture, community and country to support good mental health and well-being and protect against indirect and potentially long-term effects of COVID-19. (2) Method: We reviewed literature published between February and November 2020 and policy responses related to digital strategies. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, government policy websites and key Indigenous literature sources, identifying 3460 articles. Of these, 30 articles and 26 policy documents were included and analysed to identify existing and expected mental health outcomes among Indigenous young people associated with COVID-19 and more broadly. (3) Results: There are inequities in affordable access to digital technologies. Only 63% of Indigenous people have access to internet at home. Digital technologies and social media contribute to strong cultural identity, enhance connections to community and country and improve mental health and social and emotional well-being outcomes. (4) Discussion: Access to digital technologies can facilitate healing and cultural continuity, self-determination and empowerment for young people to thrive, not just survive, in the future. (5) Conclusion: More targeted policies and funding is urgently needed to promote digital technologies to enhance Indigenous young people’s access to mental health and well-being services, maintain cultural connections and evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives using Indigenous well-being indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Roz Walker & Kim Usher & Debra Jackson & Corinne Reid & Katrina Hopkins & Carrington Shepherd & Reakeeta Smallwood & Rhonda Marriott, 2021. "Connection to... Addressing Digital Inequities in Supporting the Well-Being of Young Indigenous Australians in the Wake of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:2141-:d:503825
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/2141/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/2141/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Katrina D Hopkins & Stephen R Zubrick & Catherine L Taylor, 2014. "Resilience amongst Australian Aboriginal Youth: An Ecological Analysis of Factors Associated with Psychosocial Functioning in High and Low Family Risk Contexts," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Katrina D Hopkins & Carrington C J Shepherd & Catherine L Taylor & Stephen R Zubrick, 2015. "Relationships between Psychosocial Resilience and Physical Health Status of Western Australian Urban Aboriginal Youth," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Steven Bond-Smith & Alan S Duncan & Daniel Kiely & Silvia Salazar, 2018. "Falling Through the Net: The Digital Divide in Western Australia," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Report series FWA11, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    4. Kim Usher & Navjot Bhullar & Debra Jackson, 2020. "Life in the pandemic: Social isolation and mental health," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(15-16), pages 2756-2757, August.
    5. Yin Paradies & Jehonathan Ben & Nida Denson & Amanuel Elias & Naomi Priest & Alex Pieterse & Arpana Gupta & Margaret Kelaher & Gilbert Gee, 2015. "Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-48, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. James Bennett-Levy & Judy Singer & Darlene Rotumah & Sarah Bernays & David Edwards, 2021. "From Digital Mental Health to Digital Social and Emotional Wellbeing: How Indigenous Community-Based Participatory Research Influenced the Australian Government’s Digital Mental Health Agenda," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Dai Pu & Victoria Palmer & Louise Greenstock & Cathie Pigott & Anna Peeters & Lena Sanci & Michele Callisaya & Colette Browning & Wendy Chapman & Terry Haines, 2023. "Identifying Public Healthcare Priorities in Virtual Care for Older Adults: A Participatory Research Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Patricia Dudgeon & Jemma R. Collova & Kate Derry & Stewart Sutherland, 2023. "Lessons Learned during a Rapidly Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-Led Mental Health and Wellbeing Responses Are Key," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-15, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katrina D Hopkins & Carrington C J Shepherd & Catherine L Taylor & Stephen R Zubrick, 2015. "Relationships between Psychosocial Resilience and Physical Health Status of Western Australian Urban Aboriginal Youth," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Irizar, Patricia & Kapadia, Dharmi & Amele, Sarah & Bécares, Laia & Divall, Pip & Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal & Kibuchi, Eliud & Kneale, Dylan & McCabe, Ronan & Nazroo, James & Nellums, Laura B. & T, 2023. "Pathways to ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 health outcomes in the United Kingdom: A systematic map," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    3. Ruta Clair & Maya Gordon & Matthew Kroon & Carolyn Reilly, 2021. "The effects of social isolation on well-being and life satisfaction during pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-6, December.
    4. Yuqi Wang & Laurent Reyes & Emily A. Greenfield & Sarah R. Allred, 2022. "Municipal Ethnic Composition and Disparities in COVID-19 Infections in New Jersey: A Blinder–Oaxaca Decomposition Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-25, October.
    5. Michelle Symons & Carmem Meira Cunha & Karolien Poels & Heidi Vandebosch & Nathalie Dens & Clara Alida Cutello, 2021. "Physical Activity during the First Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Investigating the Reliance on Digital Technologies, Perceived Benefits, Barriers and the Impact of Affect," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-23, May.
    6. Malat, Jennifer & Mayorga-Gallo, Sarah & Williams, David R., 2018. "The effects of whiteness on the health of whites in the USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 148-156.
    7. Lynn N. Ibekwe & Maria Eugenia Fernández-Esquer & Sandi L. Pruitt & Nalini Ranjit & Maria E. Fernández, 2021. "Racism and Cancer Screening among Low-Income, African American Women: A Multilevel, Longitudinal Analysis of 2-1-1 Texas Callers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-19, October.
    8. Caryn N. Bell & Jordan Kerr & Jessica L. Young, 2019. "Associations between Obesity, Obesogenic Environments, and Structural Racism Vary by County-Level Racial Composition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, March.
    9. Elizabeth A. Minton, 2022. "Pandemics and consumers' mental well‐being," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 5-14, March.
    10. Ricci B Harris & James Stanley & Donna M Cormack, 2018. "Racism and health in New Zealand: Prevalence over time and associations between recent experience of racism and health and wellbeing measures using national survey data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-22, May.
    11. Gina Voss & Andreia F. Paiva & Alice Delerue Matos, 2021. "A Study of the Association between the Stringency of Covid-19 Government Measures and Depression in Older Adults across Europe and Israel," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-12, July.
    12. Villarreal-Otálora, Tatiana & Boyas, Javier F. & Alvarez-Hernandez, Luis R. & Fatehi, Mariam, 2020. "Ecological factors influencing suicidal ideation-to-action among Latinx adolescents: An exploration of sex differences," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    13. Farah N. Mawani & Patricia O’Campo & Peter Smith, 2022. "Opportunity Costs: Underemployment and Mental Health Inequities Between Immigrant and Canadian-Born Labour Force Participants: A Cross-Sectional Study," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1443-1470, September.
    14. Nazan Ulusoy & Anja Schablon, 2020. "Discrimination in In-Patient Geriatric Care: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Employees with a Turkish Migration Background," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Tara L Upshaw & Chloe Brown & Robert Smith & Melissa Perri & Carolyn Ziegler & Andrew D Pinto, 2021. "Social determinants of COVID-19 incidence and outcomes: A rapid review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, March.
    16. Lubna Rashid & Silvia Cepeda-García, 2021. "Self-Categorising and Othering in Migrant Integration: The Case of Entrepreneurs in Berlin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    17. Nanath, Krishnadas & Balasubramanian, Sreejith & Shukla, Vinaya & Islam, Nazrul & Kaitheri, Supriya, 2022. "Developing a mental health index using a machine learning approach: Assessing the impact of mobility and lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    18. Satrio Nindyo Istiko & Jo Durham & Lana Elliott, 2022. "(Not That) Essential: A Scoping Review of Migrant Workers’ Access to Health Services and Social Protection during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-13, March.
    19. Dudovitz, R.N. & Biely, C. & Barnert, E.S. & Coker, T.R. & Guerrero, A.D. & Jackson, N. & Schickedanz, A. & Szilagyi, P.G. & Iyer, S. & Chung, P.J., 2021. "Association between school racial/ethnic composition during adolescence and adult health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    20. Uršula Lipovec Čebron, 2021. "Language as a Trigger for Racism: Language Barriers at Healthcare Institutions in Slovenia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:2141-:d:503825. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.