Catherine Fetherston

This article discusses the experiences of a group of Australian Aboriginal yorgas (women) in a regional setting in south west Western Australia, who participated in the group fitness and walking group component of the Binjareb Yorgas Health Program (BYHP). The BYHP was community owned and collaboratively developed and facilitated with non-Indigenous health professional researchers from September 2012 to September 2013. The study used an ethnographic action research approach guided by the Making Two Worlds Work Aboriginal health promotion framework and aimed to explore the ways in which the BYHP facilitated lifestyle changes. The group fitness and the walking group aimed to provide a culturally appropriate platform for the development of new skills and knowledge regarding the implementation and importance of regular exercise to maintain personal and family wellbeing. Seventeen yorga participants aged between 18 and 60 years consented to participate in the BYHP, which comprised cooking and nutrition classes, group fitness classes, walking group sessions, and a community vegetable garden project. The group fitness classes and the walking group classes were facilitated weekly during the school terms for the period of the study. Data were gathered in the form of participant and direct observation, group yarning (focus group) and individual yarning (interview) sessions, and works of art. Four major themes emerged: loss of traditional knowledge and practices; withdrawal due to shame; community facilitation enabling enjoyment in engagement; and experiencing a sense of place and reconnection to land and culture.

This article discusses the experiences of Aboriginal yorgas (women) participating in the health yarning component of the Binjareb Yorgas Health Program (BYHP) in regional Western Australia. The community owned project was collaboratively conducted with researchers from September 2012 to September 2013 and used an ethnographic action research approach. The study aimed to explore the ways in which the BYHP facilitated lifestyle changes. The health yarning component aimed to provide a culturally appropriate vehicle for the yorgas to develop health knowledge on topics of relevance to them. A sample of 17 yorgas consented to participate in the BYHP, which comprised of cooking and nutrition classes, group fitness classes, and a community vegetable garden project. The health yarning sessions were conducted when the yorgas came together for these three components, which were facilitated weekly over the school terms for the duration of the study. Data were gathered in the form of participant and direct observation, group and individual yarning sessions, and works of art. Three major themes emerged that included identified elements for ensuring cultural security in communication, and were: a patient way of talking with us, a culturally 'safe' way of talking, and listening to become strong in health.

This article describes an art narrative project that encouraged the participants of the Bindjareb Yorgas Health Program (BYHP), in the South West of Western Australia, to share their personal experiences of involvement. The aims of the BYHP are: to foster a more supportive health environment amongst the Bindjareb community's women and their families through participation, communication, and relationship building; the development of personal skills in achieving and maintaining wellness; and strengthening community actions by facilitating individual and group self-determination. As Aboriginal art is used to convey different kinds of storytelling this has aided in the expression of the community's collective identity and has enabled the telling and re-telling of their stories across varying cultures, and to a range of audiences. The expression of personal and group narratives through art will also ensure that positive stories promoting family health and wellbeing can be told many times over with different groups of Aboriginal people resulting in the potential for on-going change. Moreover, the innovative approach taken here will also lead to embedded stories in the local cultural group, around the processes and outcomes of the project and its impact on their health. This article discusses the processes involved in the production of the art and the 'meaning making' that resulted from the project guided by frameworks of communication and behavioural change.

This paper describes how Ennis's (2010) Super-streamlined Concept of Critical Thinking Framework (SSCCTF) has been used to frame an analysis of critical thinking development, in a study of young children who participated in a community creative arts activity. The SSCCTF provided an ideal guide during the research analysis to identify dispositions and abilities displayed by the children and map them across the framework. The aim of the paper is to explain the evidence of critical thinking dispositions and abilities in this cohort of children and interpret its significance in terms of critical thinking development.

The presentation will highlight the holistic framework, the health promotion focus and the research agenda of the Bindjareb Yorgas Health Program [Program], which has been structured to be socially embedded to capitalise on the capacity of its community members. The Program has been developed in collaboration between researchers from Murdoch University School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Bindjareb women Elders and Leader of the Murray District Aboriginal Association in Pinjarra, Western Australia. The framework is considerate to the Aboriginal social determinants of health and was developed with a focus on the three major principles for guiding health promotion activity, advocacy, meditation and enablement, and the three action areas for undertaking health promotion, creating supportive environments to encourage equitable access; strengthening community actions to enable empowerment; and the development of personal skills in achieving and maintaining wellness. The four components of the Program reflect the concerns of the community regarding the issues that are compromising their health. By developing health literacy in nutrition and chronic disease management, improved physical activity and a reduction in addictive behaviours the community can begin to tackle the high prevalence of chronic disease, obesity and addiction using preventative steps and solutions they themselves have engineered. A pilot project funded by the Australian Government through the Swap It Don't Stop It Campaign, is being conducted from September to December 2012, to ensure that the research processes for the yearlong intervention, commencing in February 2013, are suitable. An advisory group has been convened to assess, counsel and validate the Program processes, content and quality. In addition, the Bindjareb woman leader has been appointed as the research associate. This intervention aims to extend knowledge surrounding existing health promotion initiatives previously designed in Aboriginal communities by implementing a program that ensures community ownership and continued delivery program.