Culturally Safe eHealth Interventions With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Protocol for a Best Practice Framework

Georgina R Chelberg; Kaley Butten; Ray Mahoney; eHRCATSIH Group

doi:10.2196/34904

Culturally Safe eHealth Interventions With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Protocol for a Best Practice Framework

JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 Jun 10;11(6):e34904. doi: 10.2196/34904.

Authors

Georgina R Chelberg^{1

2}, Kaley Butten¹, Ray Mahoney^{1

3}; eHRCATSIH Group⁴

Collaborators

eHRCATSIH Group:
Liam Caffery, Jed Fraser, Danielle Gallegos, Andrew Goodman, Sheleigh Lawler, Steven McPhail, Emma Thomas, Marlien Varnfield

Affiliations

¹ Australian E-Health Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Herston, Australia.
² Centre for Online Health, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Australia.
³ School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, Australia.
⁴ See Acknowledgments, .

PMID: 35687420
PMCID: PMC9233256
DOI: 10.2196/34904

Abstract

Background: There is growing global evidence on the adoption and effectiveness of eHealth (including mobile health and telehealth) by First Nation peoples including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Although there are frameworks to guide eHealth development, implementation, and evaluation, it is unknown whether they adequately encapsulate the health, cultural, and community-related priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Objective: The aim of this research program is to prepare a best practice framework that will guide the co-design, implementation, and evaluation of culturally safe eHealth interventions within existing models of health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The framework will be a synthesis of evidence that represents best practices in eHealth, as determined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Methods: Research activities to develop the best practice framework will occur in stepped but overlapping qualitative research phases with governance from an existing multiagency research collaboration (the Collaboration). The research protocol has been informed by key research frameworks such as the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) and Developers of Health Research Reporting Guidelines. The seven phases of research will include the following: systematic literature review, scoping review, theme development, theme consultation, Delphi processes for expert reviews, and dissemination.

Results: Members of the Collaboration conceived this research program in August 2020, and a draft was produced in June 2021 with subsequent funding obtained in July 2021. The Collaboration approved the protocol in December 2021. Results for several research phases of the best practice framework development are expected by January 2023, commencing with the systematic literature review and the scoping review.

Conclusions: The research program outlined in this protocol is a timely response to the growing number of eHealth interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A best practice framework is needed to guide the rigorous development and evaluation of eHealth innovations to promote genuine co-design and ensure cultural safety and clinical effectiveness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

International registered report identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/34904.

Keywords: Aboriginal; Australia; First Nations; Indigenous; Torres Strait Islander; best practice; co-design; culturally safe; culturally sensitive; development; eHealth; evaluation; framework; health care model; mHealth; telehealth.

©Georgina R Chelberg, Kaley Butten, Ray Mahoney, eHRCATSIH Group. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 10.06.2022.