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36 Speak Out December 2016
In May, Northern Territory SPA members along with other Darwin-based allied health
professionals attended a webinar presentation at Royal Darwin Hospital delivered by Kylie Stothers
from Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA). This collaborative session between IAHA and Speech
Pathology Paediatric Indigenous Network (SPPIN) was convened to introduce participants to IAHA’s
Cultural Responsiveness Framework. The framework aims to support all Australian’s working with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, families and communities to acquire the relevant
skills and knowledge to develop capabilities that are essential for successful partnerships in action.
The IAHA framework is a strengths-based, action orientated approach to building cultural safety. It
is based on the principles of knowing, being and doing – “What we need to KNOW, BE and DO in
order to be culturally responsive” (see figure 1).
The session was designed to “walk” providers through the framework, and explore the importance of
being culturally responsive, in order to positively impact the health and well-
being of Australia’s first peoples. Further, this framework seeks to change
the language in the Aboriginal health space from deficit-based to solution-
focused language. As service providers we may want to consider our
drive to “fix” people, and reframe our services as working with individual
and community strengths to maximise participation of our clients and their
families. The framework is comprised of six key capabilities (see figure
2) and this webinar introduced the capabilities of self-awareness, and
inclusive engagement.
Overall we learned we can all strengthen our level of cultural
responsiveness and we encourage you to take a look at the framework for
yourself.
Some take-away tips for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients:
• Don’t worry about silence. After you pose a question, wait, allow the family time (maybe even
two minutes) to process what you are saying. As a health professional working with Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people be prepared for silence and if this is something that you are not
comfortable with, your responsibility is to work on this, learn from it and practise it.
• Remember some families are communicating with you in their second or third language. Allow
for time for clarification and think about Aboriginal interpreters to ensure clear communication
and understanding.
• Families might feel more comfortable sitting side by side with you. If possible allow for a
more fluid room set up where family members can move chairs or sit where they feel most
comfortable.
Other things you can do:
1. Download the Cultural Framework from IAHA at
uploads/2015/08/2015-IAHA-Cultural-Responsiveness-Framework-WEB.pdf
2. Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) is a national not-for-profit, member based Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander allied health organisation. Established in 2009, from a network of
committed allied health professionals and registered in 2013, IAHA has 837 members, only 67
of them in the NT! Join IAHA through their website. You do not have to be an Indigenous allied
health provider yourself and membership is free! Go to
3. Join Speech Pathology Paediatric Indigenous Network (SPPIN) through their Facebook page.
4. Check out Racism Stops With Me: and join the
campaign.
For more information please contact IAHA directly on (02) 62851010, email or
visit
Northern
Territory
NT 47
members
Branch News
as at October 2016
Introducing the Indigenous Allied Health Australia’s
Cultural Responsiveness Framework
Bea Staley Charles Darwin University
Kylie Stothers Indigenous Allied Health Australia
fig.1
fig.2
Speech Pathology Australia is partners with IAHA to conduct cultural responsiveness education
sessions with our members across the country. More information from SPA will follow shortly.