Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2xdlg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-03T19:15:35.228Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Creating Culturally Safe Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Indigenous Australians: A Brief Review of the Literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2016

Vanette McLennan ,
Natalie Taylor ,
Amanda Rachow ,
Grant South  and
Kelsey Chapman
Vanette McLennan*
Affiliation:
School of Allied Health Sciences, Griffith University and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD, 4222, Australia
Natalie Taylor
Affiliation:
School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD, 4222Australia
Amanda Rachow
Affiliation:
School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD, 4222Australia
Grant South
Affiliation:
School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD, 4222Australia
Kelsey Chapman
Affiliation:
School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD, 4222Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Vanette E. J. McLennan, School of Allied Health Sciences, Griffith University and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD, 4222. E-mail: v.mclennan@griffith.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

This article reviews the research evidence on vocational rehabilitation services and rehabilitation counselling practice with Indigenous Australians. It applied a context sensitive, cultural safety and reflexivity approach to construct salient themes from the research evidence. Findings suggest Indigenous Australians with disabilities experience significant ‘double-disadvantage’, and that vocational rehabilitation service providers lack the knowledge and skills in culturally safe practice in order to enhance the opportunities for social and economic inclusion of Indigenous Australians. A whole-of-profession approach, incorporating and ensuring Indigenous client equity and cultural safety in vocational rehabilitation, is critically and urgently needed.

Keywords

vocational rehabilitationIndigenous Australianscultural safety
Type
Articles
Information
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , December 2016 , pp. 93 - 103
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). (2009a). Population Characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians 2009. Cat. No. 6287.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). (2009b). Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers 2009. Cat. No. 4430.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011a). Census of Population and Housing: Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Cat No. 2075.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). (2011b). Census of Population and Housing: Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians 2011. Cat. No 2076.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). (2014a). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with a Disability, 2012. Cat. No. 4433.0.55.005. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). (2014b). Australian Social Trends, 2014. Cat. No. 4102.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
Arriotti, L. (1995). A tertiary rehabilitation pilot project in remote aboriginal communities. Proceedings from the 3rd National Rural Health Conference, Mt Beauty, 3–5 February 1995.Google Scholar
Barnes, C., & Mercer, G. (2005). The Social Model of Disability: Europe and the Majority World (p. 218). Leeds: Disability Press.Google Scholar
Berry, S.L., Crowe, T.P., Deane, F.P., Billingaham, M., & Bhagerutty, Y. (2012). Growth and empowerment for Indigenous Australians in substance abuse treatment. International Journal of Mental Health, 10 (1), 970–983.Google Scholar
Buys, N., Matthews, L.R., & Randall, C. (2014). Contemporary vocational rehabilitation in Australia. Disability & Rehabilitation, 37 (9), 820–824. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2014.942001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Closing the Gap Clearinghouse (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Australian Institute for Family Studies). (2013). Strategies and practices for promoting the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Resource sheet no. 19. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.Google Scholar
DeSouza, R. (2008). Wellness for all: The possibilities of cultural safety and cultural competence in New Zealand. Journal of Research in Nursing, 13, 125–135.Google Scholar
Fisher-Borne, M., Cain, J.M., & Martin, S.L. (2015). From mastery to accountability: cultural humility as an alternative to cultural competence. Social Work Education, 34 (2), 165–181. doi: 0.1080/02615479.2014.977244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerlach, A.J. (2012). A critical reflection on the concept of cultural safety. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79 (3), 151–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammel, K.R.W. (2013). Occupation, wellbeing, and culture: Theory and cultural humility. The Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80 (4), 224–234. doi: 0.1177/0008417413500465.Google Scholar
Hasnain, R., & Sotnik, P. (2003). Person-centred planning: A gateway to improving vocational rehabilitation services for culturally diverse individuals with disabilities. Journal of Rehabilitation, 69 (3), 10–17.Google Scholar
Henderson, S., Kendall, E., & See, L. (2011). The effectiveness of culturally appropriate interventions to manage or prevent chronic disease in culturally and liguistically diverse communities: A systematic literature review. Health and Social Care in the Community, 19 (3), 225–249.Google Scholar
Hollinsworth, D. (2013). Decolonising Indigenous disability in Australia. Disability & Society, 28 (5), 601–615. doi:10.1080/09687599.2012.717879.Google Scholar
Horton, D.R. (1994). Unity and Diversity: The History and Culture of Aboriginal Australia (Feature Article). Year Book Australia. Cat No. 1301.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar
Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA). (2015). Cultural responsiveness in action: an IAHA framework. Canberra, ACT: IAHA. Available at http://iaha.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2015-IAHA-Cultural-Responsiveness-Framework-WEB.pdf.Google Scholar
Isaacson, M. (2014). Clarrifying concepts: Cultural humility or competency. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30 (3), 251–258. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2013.09.011.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendall, E., & Marshall, C.A. (2004). Factors that prevent equitable access to rehabilitation for aboriginal Australians with disabilities: The need for culturally safe rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Psychology, 49 (1), 5–13. doi: 10.1037/0090-5550.49.1.5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendall, E., Milliken, J., Barnett, L., & Marshall, C. (2008). Improving practice by respecting indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing. In Taylor, S., Foster, M., & Fleming, J. (Eds.), Health Care Practice in Australia: Policy, Context and Innovations (pp. 220–237). Melbourne: Oxford Uni Press.Google Scholar
King, J.A., Brough, M., & Knox, M. (2014). Negotiating disability and colonisation: The lived experience of Indigenous Australians with a disability. Disability & Society, 29 (5), 738–750. doi:10.1080/09687599.2013.864257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuipers, P., Harvey, D., Lindeman, M., & Stothers, K. (2014). Aboriginal and torres strait islander health practitioners in rural areas: Credentialing, context and capacity building. Rural and Remote Health, 14, 2897.Google Scholar
Kuipers, P., Kendall, E., & Hancock, T. (2001). Developing a rural community-based disability service: (1) Service framework and stategy. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 9, 22–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maher, P. (1999). A review of traditional Aboriginal health beliefs. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 7, 229–236.Google Scholar
Maru, Y.T., & Davies, J. (2011). Supporting cross-cultural brokers is essential for employment among Aboriginal people in remote Australia. Rangeland Journal, 33 (4), 327–338. doi: 10.1071/RJ11022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, L.R., Buys, N., Randall, C., Marfels, B., Niehaus, M., & Bauer, J.F. (2015). A comparative study of the job tasks, functions, and knowledge domains of rehabilitation professionals providing vocational rehabilitation services in Australia and Germany. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 58 (2), 80–90.Google Scholar
McLennan, V., & Khavarpour, F. (2004). Culturally appropriate health promotion: Its meaning and application in aboriginal communities. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 15 (3), 237–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molloy, L., & Grootjans, J. (2014). The ideas of frantz fanon and culturally safe practices for aboriginal and torres strait islander people in Australia. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 35 (3), 207–211.Google Scholar
Morgan, D.L., Slade, M.D., & Morgan, C.M. (1997). Aboriginal philosophy and its impact on health care outcomes. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 21, 597–601.Google Scholar
National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). (2009). Brokering successful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Outcomes: Common Themes in Good-Practice Models. Adelaide, SA: NCVER, Aus. Govt.Google Scholar
National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). (2013). Cultural Dimensions of Indigenous Participation in Vocational Education and Training: New Perspectives. Adelaide, SA: Australian Government.Google Scholar
NSW Ombudsman. (2010). Improving Service Delivery to Aboriginal People with a Disability: A Review of the Implementation of ADHC's Aboriginal Policy Framework and Aboriginal Consultation Strategy. A special report to Parliament under section 31 of the Ombudsman Act 1974, Sept 2010. Available at http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/3350/SR_ImprvServDeliAboriginalPeopDisability_Sept10.pdf.Google Scholar
Papps, E., & Ramsden, I. (1996). Cultural safety in nursing: The New Zealand experience. International Journal of Quality in Health Care, 8 (5), 491–497.Google Scholar
Ramsden, I. (1990). Cultural safety. New Zealand Nursing Journal, 83, 18–19.Google Scholar
SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision). (2014). Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2014. Canberra: Productivity Commission.Google Scholar
Smye, V., & Browne, A.J. (2002). 'Cultural Safety' and the analysis of health policy affecting Aboriginal people. Nurse Researcher, 9 (3), 42–56.Google Scholar
Stiglitz, J.E. (2002). Employment, social justice and societal well-being. International Labour Review, 141, 9–29. doi: 10.1111/j.1564-913X.2002.tb00229.x.Google Scholar
Taylor, K., Thompson, S., & Davis, R. (2009). Delivering culturally appropriate residential rehabilitation for urban Indigneous Australians: A review of the challenges and opportunities. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 31 (S1), S36–S40.Google Scholar
Tervalon, M., & Murray-Garcia, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved, 9 (2), 117–125. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2010.0233.Google Scholar
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians and The Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (2011). Realising the Health Benefits of Work, A Position Statement. Available from http://www.racp.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/afoem-pos-aus-nz-con-health-benefits-work-pack.pdf?sfvrsn=0.Google Scholar
Waters, L.E., & Moore, K.A. (2001). Coping with economic deprivation during unemployment. Journal of Economic Psychology, 22, 461–482. doi: 10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00046-0.Google Scholar
Waters, L.E., & Moore, K.A. (2002). Reducing latent deprivation during unemployment: the role of meaningful leisure activity. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 75, 15–32. doi: 10.1348/096317902167621.Google Scholar
Watts, E., & Carlson, G. (2002). Practical stategies for working with indigenous people living in Queensland, Australia. Occupational Therapy International, 9 (4), 277–293. doi: 10.1002/oti.169.Google Scholar
Westby, C. (2013). Implementing recommendations of the world report on disability for indigenous populations. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15 (1), 96–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Westerman, T. (2004). Engagement of Indigenous clients in mental health services: What role do cultural differences play? Australian E-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 3 (3), 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Western Australia Disability Services Commission. (2009). Aboriginal People with Disabilities: Getting Services Right. Perth: Disability Services Commission, Government of Western Australia. Available from www.nds.org.au/asset/view_document/979317873.Google Scholar