In the event of a crisis: what services are accessed and available to the Aboriginal community of Dalby who have been affected by suicide and/or self-harm?

In the event of a crisis: what services are accessed and available to the Aboriginal community of Dalby who have been affected by suicide and/or self-harm?

[Abstract]:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face a number of difficulties when accessing any type of service and these difficulties are more prominent when living in communities that are located in rural, remote and isolated areas. The difficulties that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are confronted with are not new to any person who has an understanding of the history and struggles nevertheless the difficulties still remain to be the same. However government policies both past and present don‘t appear to have made any significant impact upon how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people access services or improving the overall health of this population. It is apparent after reviewing the literature that there is limited research done at a local level with an emphasis on Aboriginal populations and access to services. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore and identify the different types of health and counselling services available in the community of Dalby and to identify if the local Aboriginal people use these services when in crisis or need.

The methodology used for this research is both quantitative and qualitative focus which incorporated researching what types of services existed including the establishment of four (4) focus groups within the community for the purposes of interviewing local Aboriginal people. There were a total of twenty three (23) Aboriginal people who participated in the focus groups. From the data collected and analysed the recurring themes identified were: 1. racism and discrimination, 2. beliefs, attitudes and misconceptions, 3. leadership, 4. culture and four (4) subthemes 1. Institutional racism, 2. Social justice, 3. Cultural safety, 4. Cultural awareness. Findings from the research
indicate that Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to access mainstream services in the event of a crisis as well as Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander services accessing mainstream services. Hence it is very important that services create an opportunity for Aboriginal culture and practices to be acknowledged and imbedded into the planning and delivery of effective and efficient services to enable a more client-friendly and culturally appropriate service that Aboriginal people can access. Access to health services, the ability to act on health advice, and the capacity to modify health risk factors are all influenced by the circumstances in which people live and work.