The Sax Institute has a longstanding commitment to improving Aboriginal health through Aboriginal community-led research. We are pioneers of the community-led research model and have been building strong relationships with Aboriginal health organisations since 2003.
The Institute has worked in close collaboration with several Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) across NSW to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people. Through these partnerships, ACCHSs nominate their research priorities, control how the research is conducted and take the lead in determining what works for them and their communities.
Our partnerships with ACCHSs have supported these research projects:
- The Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH), a longitudinal study of 1600 urban Aboriginal children along with their caregivers. Aboriginal community priorities have determined the direction of SEARCH, and the study has had significant impacts on health, services and programs for urban Aboriginal children, as well as fostering a new generation of Aboriginal researchers.
- The Cancer and Healthy Ageing in Aboriginal NSW Older Generations (CHANGES) Study, which has explored older Aboriginal people’s perspectives on healthy ageing, their understanding of cancer as part of the ageing process, and how programs and services might be improved.
- The Indigenous Led Evaluation of Aboriginal Programs (ILEAP), which is looking at effective approaches in critical health areas such as Aboriginal youth suicide and adult chronic disease. ILEAP is led by three ACCHSs: Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation, Orange Aboriginal Medical Service and Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service.
- The Decolonising Lactation Care project, which aims to increase rates of breastfeeding among Aboriginal women through an evidence-informed, community designed pilot breastfeeding program and strengthened capacity of Aboriginal midwives and health workers to provide specialist lactation care. It also aims to co-develop a framework for an Aboriginal lactation training program, incorporating the WHO Nurturing Care Framework and guidelines for breastfeeding.
The new knowledge and insights generated from working with these communities, including the employment of Aboriginal people, results in a strengthening and building of the skills and capabilities in the communities involved.
These projects were awarded funding through competitive research grant schemes run by what is now the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) or the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). The Sax Institute remains strongly committed to enabling First Nations-led efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people.
