Experiences of co-designing research about a rural Aboriginal well-being program: Informing practice and policy

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore data and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers' experiences and reflexivity in co-designing research about a rural Aboriginal well-being program to inform practice and policy.

Setting: Gumbaynggirr, Birpai, Kamilaroi and Awabakal countries located in regional and rural New South Wales, Australia.

Participants: Rural and regionally located research team who co-designed processes to challenge the status quo about a critically framed, rural-based Aboriginal well-being research project.

Design: Researchers drew on data from a research project in an interpretive cycle of collaborative Yarning. Data included 90 published articles, 12 Yarning transcripts and 26 reflective journal text sets, as well as researcher experiences and reflexivity.

Results: The Duguula Gayirray (Yarning together), Yandaarray (walking together) and Duguula Nguraljili (sharing together) co-design practice model was developed to represent key actions in the context of an Aboriginal well-being program in a rural context. Actions were supported by seven interpersonal ways of being and were underpinned by respectful relationships between community and researchers.

Discussion: Duguula Gayirray, Yandaarray and Duguula Nguraljili are critical to co-design practice and are grounded in respectful relationships. Our experiences led us to critique our perceptions of power sharing, equitable partnerships and collaborative knowledges towards opportunity for collective research co-design.

Conclusion: Duguula Gayirray, Yandaarray and Duguula Nguraljili transformed our understanding of achieving liberation from dominant western research in the context of a rurally located Australian Aboriginal well-being program. This study contributes to progression of Aboriginal health research practice and policy recommendations, enabling real cultural change in health care with rurally located Aboriginal communities.

Keywords: Aboriginal health; Yarning; collaborative inquiry; critical hermeneutics; indigenous communities.