To date, there has been only limited research investigating the musculoskeletal health of Indigenous Australians. Nevertheless, the pain and disability associated with musculoskeletal conditions are thought to be high. This thesis reports on the outcomes of a cross-sectional survey and clinical assessment designed to measure the prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions, and uses them to inform the development of a community-based musculoskeletal training program for Indigenous Australians living in one of the largest rural Indigenous communities in Australia. There were three separate community-based studies comprising this thesis: The first describes the development of measures for assessing the prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions and the associated risk factors and barriers to managing these conditions for people living in this Community. The development of a screening survey and clinical assessment protocol was based on a literature search, existing validated measures, feedback from Indigenous focus groups and pilot testing with Indigenous people in order to achieve cultural appropriateness. The second study piloted the research tools, then measured and assessed the prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions, associated risk factors and barriers to managing these conditions in the Community. The third study describes the development and implementation of a preliminary community-based intervention delivered by AHWs that responded to the outcomes of the prevalence study. It assessed the cultural acceptability of a musculoskeletal training program (MTP), as well as piloting an approach to assessing changes in skills and knowledge of Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) who participated in the MTP. The conduct of these studies reiterates the difficulties associated with conducting studies in Indigenous Communities according to mainstream concepts, which rely on randomly selecting participants in order to achieve generalisability to the larger population. Beyond empowering Indigenous people through sustainable, community-based training initiatives, lies the immediate need to improve access to musculoskeletal health services and to remove this current and considerable barrier to improving the musculoskeletal health of Indigenous Australians. The conclusions of this thesis highlight the importance of giving consideration to cultural sensitivity and collaboration in planning health service delivery to Indigenous people. The application of the community-based model used in this study may have the potential to be seeded in Communities throughout the country as a step towards promoting the musculoskeletal health of Indigenous people living in rural Australia and beyond. / PhD Doctorate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/189538 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Vindigni, Dein |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.newcastle.edu.au/copyright.html, Copyright 2005 Dein Vindigni |
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