IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i14p7233-d589523.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“You Can’t Work with My People If You Don’t Know How to”: Enhancing Transfer of Care from Hospital to Primary Care for Aboriginal Australians with Chronic Disease

Author

Listed:
  • Ilse Blignault

    (Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia)

  • Liz Norsa

    (Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia)

  • Raylene Blackburn

    (South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia)

  • George Bloomfield

    (South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia)

  • Karen Beetson

    (South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia)

  • Bin Jalaludin

    (South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia
    Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, UNSW Sydney, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia)

  • Nathan Jones

    (South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia)

Abstract

Indigenous Australians experience significantly poorer health compared to other Australians, with chronic disease contributing to two-thirds of the health gap. We report on an evaluation of an innovative model that leverages mainstream and Aboriginal health resources to enable safe, supported transfer of care for Aboriginal adults with chronic conditions leaving hospital. The multisite evaluation was Aboriginal-led and underpinned by the principles of self-determination and equity and Indigenous research protocols. The qualitative study documented processes and captured service user and provider experiences. We found benefits for patients and their families, the hospital and the health system. The new model enhanced the patient journey and trust in the health service and was a source of staff satisfaction. Challenges included staff availability, patient identification and complexity and the broader issue of cultural safety. Critical success factors included strong governance with joint cultural and clinical leadership and enduring relationships and partnerships at the service delivery, organisation and system levels. A holistic model of care, bringing together cultural and clinical expertise and partnering with Indigenous community organisations, can enhance care coordination and safety across the hospital–community interface. It is important to consider context as well as specific program elements in design, implementation and evaluation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ilse Blignault & Liz Norsa & Raylene Blackburn & George Bloomfield & Karen Beetson & Bin Jalaludin & Nathan Jones, 2021. "“You Can’t Work with My People If You Don’t Know How to”: Enhancing Transfer of Care from Hospital to Primary Care for Aboriginal Australians with Chronic Disease," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-17, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7233-:d:589523
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7233/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7233/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julieann Coombes & Sarah Fraser & Kate Hunter & Rebecca Ivers & Andrew Holland & Julian Grant & Tamara Mackean, 2021. "“They Are Worth Their Weight in Gold”: Families and Clinicians’ Perspectives on the Role of First Nations Health Workers in Paediatric Burn Care in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Wanda Phillips-Beck & Rachel Eni & Josée G. Lavoie & Kathi Avery Kinew & Grace Kyoon Achan & Alan Katz, 2020. "Confronting Racism within the Canadian Healthcare System: Systemic Exclusion of First Nations from Quality and Consistent Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-20, November.
    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. Kalinda Griffiths & Abbey Diaz & Lisa J. Whop & Joan Cunningham, 2021. "The Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples around the Globe: Ensuring and Promoting Best Practice in Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-9, December.

    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. Tara Flemington & Jennifer Fraser & Clinton Gibbs & Joanne Shipp & Joe Bryant & Amanda Ryan & Devika Wijetilaka & Susan Marks & Mick Scarcella & Dimitra Tzioumi & Shanthi Ramanathan & Liesa Clague & D, 2022. "The Daalbirrwirr Gamambigu (Safe Children) Model: Embedding Cultural Safety in Child Protection Responses for Australian Aboriginal Children in Hospital Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-23, April.
    2. Grace Kyoon Achan & Rachel Eni & Wanda Phillips-Beck & Josée G. Lavoie & Kathi Avery Kinew & Alan Katz, 2022. "Canada First Nations Strengths in Community-Based Primary Healthcare," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Jessica Dawson & Keera Laccos-Barrett & Courtney Hammond & Alice Rumbold, 2022. "Reflexive Practice as an Approach to Improve Healthcare Delivery for Indigenous Peoples: A Systematic Critical Synthesis and Exploration of the Cultural Safety Education Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-22, May.
    4. Afolasade Fakolade & Caitlin Stone & Nicole Bobbette, 2023. "Identifying Research Priorities to Promote the Well-Being of Family Caregivers of Canadians with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities: A Pilot Delphi Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(22), pages 1-15, November.

    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:14:p:7233-:d:589523. 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.