Experiences of health service providers establishing an Aboriginal-Mainstream partnership to improve maternity care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in an urban setting

Sophie Hickey; Katrina Couchman; Helen Stapleton; Yvette Roe; Sue Kildea

doi:10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101705

Experiences of health service providers establishing an Aboriginal-Mainstream partnership to improve maternity care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in an urban setting

Eval Program Plann. 2019 Dec:77:101705. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101705. Epub 2019 Aug 22.

Authors

Sophie Hickey¹, Katrina Couchman², Helen Stapleton³, Yvette Roe⁴, Sue Kildea⁵

Affiliations

¹ Midwifery Research Unit, Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland Level 2, Aubigny Place, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101, Australia; The Molly Wardaguga Research Centre, Charles Darwin University. Electronic address: sophie.hickey@mater.uq.edu.au.
² Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, 23 Edgar Street, Bowen Hills, Queensland, 4006, Australia.
³ Midwifery Research Unit, Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland Level 2, Aubigny Place, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101, Australia.
⁴ Midwifery Research Unit, Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland Level 2, Aubigny Place, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101, Australia; The Molly Wardaguga Research Centre, Charles Darwin University.
⁵ Midwifery Research Unit, Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland Level 2, Aubigny Place, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101, Australia; The Molly Wardaguga Research Centre, Charles Darwin University; School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia.

PMID: 31563063
DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101705

Abstract

Australian policy encourages multiagency partnerships between hospitals and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Service planners remain unsure about how to implement such partnerships in maternity care, and there is a lack of appropriate tools designed to gauge the state of such partnerships for the Australian Indigenous context. In 2013, two Aboriginal health services and a major tertiary hospital partnered to deliver best practice maternity care to Indigenous families in Brisbane, Australia. A participatory action research approach underpinned this study. Semi-structured qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with 21 of the partnership staff. All interviewees emphasized the partnership's commitment to improving long-term health and wellbeing for Indigenous families. Strategic planners were more likely to report a positive partnership than staff involved in service delivery who had diverse views. This highlights the challenges of change management when conducting such a significant service redesign in this cross-cultural context. We detail changes made within the partnership in response to the findings and provide suggestions for future development of an evaluation tool to review the state of Aboriginal-Mainstream Partnerships.

Keywords: Aboriginal-mainstream partnerships; Change management; Health services research; Indigenous people; Maternity services; Qualitative research.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Community Participation* / methods
Female
Health Services, Indigenous / organization & administration*
Humans
Male
Maternal Health Services / organization & administration*
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander*
Quality Improvement / organization & administration*
Stakeholder Participation
Urban Population