Sheree Cairney Principal Research Leader

Tammy Abbott Senior Research Officer

Interplay Project

Research Questions

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1. What are the relationships between health and wellbeing outcomes, and education and employment for individuals, families and communities living in remote Australia?

2. How effective are targeted interventions?

3. How can policy and practice be better informed by this knowledge to maximise desired health and wellbeing outcomes?

Interplay Project

Working together

Community

Research Government

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Literature Review - Recommendations

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1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people involved and their perspectives represented

2. Strength-based approach 3. Focus on interrelationships 4. Include additional themes of culture, community and

empowerment 5. Broader culturally aligned definitions of education,

employment and health

Nguyen O, Cairney S. 2013 ‘Literature review of the Interplay Between Education, Employment, Health and Wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote areas: Working towards an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing framework’.

(named in the top ten Indigenous research publications in 2013 by Australian Policy Online)

Community Engagement

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Over 3-year period - 21 workshops - 11 semi-structured interviews with PRLs - 4 community visits - 2 advisory group meetings - 21 ACRs employed

Cairney S and Abbott T. 2014. Aboriginal Wellbeing in a ‘Red Dirt Economy’. Journal of Australian Indigenous Studies.

Questions asked about research approach, framework and methods

Community Engagement - Outcomes • Culture governs everything that people do • Importance of building empowerment • Broader understandings and flexible, culturally aligned

practices needed to achieve good outcomes for education, employment and health

• All of these areas are inherently interrelated, or interplay together

Cairney S and Abbott T. 2014. Aboriginal Wellbeing in a ‘Red Dirt Economy’. Journal of Australian Indigenous Studies.

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Interplay Framework • Links science, community &

policy systems • Domains & sub-domains • Quantitative data surveys school and health records

• Qualitative data focus groups photos and video

• Serves as a communication &

data mapping tool Wellbeing = feeling good

Interplay = connections

Get a picture…

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..for different communities …& how they change over time

• Prospective cohort design • 2 waves of data collection (2014 & 2015) • 3 communities • Approx n=800 surveys (15-34 years) • 15 focus groups

This year (wave 1)

Next year (wave 2)

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The Interplay Project - Video

Aboriginal Community Researcher Program A network of over 120 Aboriginal Community Researchers employeed across 60 communities over the last three years.

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Interplay project – The way we work

11 Abbott T and Cairney S. 2014. Collaboration and Capacity Development through the employment of Aboriginal Community-based Researchers: Examples from the Interplay Project. Journal of Australian Indigenous Studies.

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Data collection on the ground

Field Work - Lessons & Challenges

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• Working with partners and including their contribution • Providing support from afar • Local hosts • Ceremonies / funerals • Going through local job providers • Training and support

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For further information, please contact: Sheree Cairney Email – sheree.cairney@nintione.com.au Phone – 0438 121 473 Tammy Abbott Email – tammy.abbott@nintione.com.au Phone – (08) 7905-5522

www.crc-rep.com/interplay

Questions?