Presentation Summary

In this presentation I will describe learnings gained from 15 years collaboration with Aboriginal colleagues in our endeavours to improve rehabilitation services for Aboriginal people with brain injury and their families. Colleagues include Aboriginal researchers, clinicians, and people with communication and other disorders associated with brain injury and their families. My research journey in this field has been made possible through the work, mentoring and support of these colleagues who introduced me to Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing.

Whilst this work has been collaborative, my comments in this presentation are made from a wadjela (whitefella) perspective and as such cannot define or confirm the cultural security of a particular set of processes. I will discuss the importance of relationships, consultation, collaboration, cultural immersion and self- awareness in establishing two-way cross-cultural communication in Aboriginal clinical and research contexts and will reflect on potential ways forward for speech pathologists to increase the cultural accessibility and security of their services and projects.

Our work has encompassed i) documentation of stories of Aboriginal people in Western Australia who have suffered stroke and traumatic brain injury and their recommendations to improve rehabilitation services, ii) embedding of principles of cultural security in hospital and community settings, including via telehealth, iii) operationalisation of principles of data sovereignty within research processes and iv) exploration of data sources and measures that best reflect meaningful health outcomes. Acknowledgment of the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of the Aboriginal community has been incorporated into all endeavours.

My own journey has involved challenging and un-learning some widely accepted western tenets of speech pathology practice in order to explore culturally acceptable practices. The presentation will encourage the unpacking of aspects related to evidence-based practice, accepted research methodologies, and assessment and treatment processes in brain injury rehabilitation.

Key messages

• Aboriginal leadership and collaboration is central to any clinical or research endeavour aiming to be culturally secure for Aboriginal peoples.
• Only Aboriginal clients and research participants can ultimately judge the cultural security of a service or project practices.
• Cultural immersion is the optimal way to learn about Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing and develop a critical perspective on current clinical practices.

Presenter biography

Professor Beth Armstrong is Director of the University Department of Rural Health South West at Edith Cowan University in Bunbury, Western Australia. She leads a national multidisciplinary team of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal researchers focused on improving service delivery and quality of life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people after traumatic brain injury and stroke. Her research is based on collaborative community and health service provider partnerships, with the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with brain injury at the centre.

Combined with her work in aphasia, Beth has produced 138 journal publications and attracted over $9m in competitive grant funding. She established speech pathology programs in NSW and WA and was inaugural editor of Advances in Speech Pathology – now the International Journal of Speech Language Pathology. She is a Foundation Member of the Speech Pathology Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee.

Pricing

• Members: FREE
• Non Members: $15

• Training Hours: 1.10