S34: WORKSHOP: Digital Resources for Indigenous Communities

Riverbank Room 2/3 (Live Streaming)
Thursday, August 17, 2023
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Riverbank Room 2/3 (Live Streaming)

Authors/Presenters

Agenda Item Image
Michelle Sweet
Senior Project Manager
Menzies School of health research
Presenting
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David Edwards
Presenting
Director, WellMob
University of Sydney
Agenda Item Image
Moore Katherine
Presenting
Menzies School of Health Research

Social and Emotional Wellbeing Digital Resources for Indigenous Communities

Abstract

Introduction
E-Mental Health in Practice (eMHPrac) is a support service funded by the Australian Government to build digital mental health awareness and skills in primary care practitioners across the country. During an eMHPrac training session participants are shown a range of Indigenous digital mental health and Social & Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) resources, two of which will be demonstrated in some detail. The first is WellMob, a website that is a library of 300 online social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people including apps, videos, podcasts, printables, social media and other websites. The second is the Stay Strong App, a wellbeing intervention designed with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The WellMob website was codesigned with First Nations people across three sites in Australia and is based on the holistic model of Indigenous SEWB. The website goes beyond curating First Nations’ mental illness interventions and focuses on strengths-based content around connection to country, culture, community and kin that are important protective factors for First Nations wellbeing. The website makes it easy for health workers and community to find and use these online resources that are credible, evidence-based and culturally relevant in client-based and health promotion work. The Stay Strong app uses an approach to wellbeing developed by the Aboriginal Islander Mental Health Initiative (AIMhi) in the NT. This brief intervention incorporates elements of cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational counselling within a strengths-based tool that recognises family, culture, community, and country as central to wellbeing.

Discussion
Whilst the primary audience for these resources are Indigenous frontline SEWB workers and their clients/communities, these resources are practical tools for non-Indigenous health practitioners with First Nations clients. They help with cross cultural engagement, building rapport between health practitioners and their Indigenous clients plus offering culturally safe and responsive resources that can be used by community 24-7. These innovative resources assist with prevention of mental illness and improvement of social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous communities across the country.

Workshop
This interactive workshop will immerse the participants in digital mental health and SEWB resources specific for First Nations people through exploring the tools in a practical way including use of case studies in small groups and larger group discussions.

Learning Objective

Increase awareness on how dMH resources can play a role for mental health workers, SEWB, youth workers....service providers can build rapport with their Indigenous clients.
dMH tools become highly accepted & used by the health workforce during the COVID pandemic- Learn about some evidence-based Indigenous-specific dMH resources.

References

Dingwall K, Puszka S, Sweet M, Nagel T. 2015 Like Drawing Into Sand”: Acceptability, Feasibility, and Appropriateness of a New e-Mental Health Resource for Service Providers Working With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Australian Psychologist 50 (1) : pages 60–69
Raphiphatthana, B., Sweet, M., Puszka, S., Dingwall, K., Nagel, T. . Evaluation of a three-phase implementation program in enhancing e-mental health adoption within Indigenous primary healthcare organisations. BMC health Services Research

 

 

c. 2023 TheMHS Learning Network Inc. Authorised by L. Dunbar, TheMHS Learning Inc., Balmain, NSW

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