Developing identity as a light-skinned Aboriginal person with little or no community and/or kinship ties

Due to Australia's colonisation history, Aboriginal people now have a complex process of both claiming and building a cultural identity, especially if they have light skin. There has been little research into how light-skinned urban Aboriginal people who lack community and/or kinship ties formulate and build their Aboriginal identity. This is an important area to research for the sustainability of the Aboriginal culture and for light-skinned Aboriginal people for now and the future

The Continuous Improvement Cultural Responsiveness Tools (CICRT) : creating more culturally responsive social workers

Social workers play a pivotal role in addressing equity and diversity within Australia using both culturally responsiveness skills and knowledge. This article describes a research project that resulted in the development of the Continuous Improvement Cultural Responsive Tools that can be used by social workers in their practice. This was a large project conducted over three years, which involved engagement and consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community social workers. The community engagement and consultation process included the provision of cultural governance and participation in interviews. The tools developed are linked to seven key domains (Ngurras) that aim to increase the skills, knowledge, and overall confidence of social work practitioners in their culturally responsive practice. This article discusses the tools that provide a clear structure to guide social workers' critical engagement in becoming more culturally responsive social workers and individuals when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. IMPLICATIONS Social work practices need to address the social injustices faced by Aboriginal Peoples by becoming more culturall responsive. The tools were developed to support social workers in their practice to self-assess their transformation in becoming culturally responsive social workers. Continuous improvement in collaborative and culturally responsive social work will improve services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Understanding camp dogs : the relationship between Aboriginal culture and western welfare

This article examines how rising concern for animal welfare in Australia is manifested in increased media coverage of these topics, including growing coverage of animal sentience, rights, and welfare. In Australia, canine existence is often determined by their positioning within cultural frames. Dogs have been integral to Aboriginal social, family, and environmental relationships for generations; however, colonisation brought fundamental changes to these established relationships, with ramifications that have prompted welfare concerns about camp dog populations. The goal of this article is to review existing research discourses and epistemological positioning of the supposed camp dog problem. We are not assessing individual programmes or reporting on fieldwork conducted with communities. Instead, this initial paper reviews some of the current literature to identify ways forward in facilitating Aboriginal self-determining of camp dog interactions in communities. © The Author(s) 2023

Emotional wellbeing as a matter of relationships and love : insights for social work from mental health peer mentor trainees, carers and practitioners

The research gathered lived experience accounts of emotional wellbeing as a counter to the over-focus on illness and deficit language and approaches in mental health practice. The exploratory research study involved semi-interviews with mental health peer mentor trainees, carers and practitioners to explore their ideas about emotional wellbeing, what enabled it and what challenged their wellbeing. Emotional wellbeing was understood as a fluctuating continuum of capacities to engage in everyday activities, to self-care and to foster relationships with others. The absence of emotional wellbeing was linked to a reduced quality of relationships and ability to love. © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

A Mixed-Methods Assessment of Human Well-Being Related to the Presence of Companion Animals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 and the measures used to curb the pandemic (e.g., lockdowns, isolation) have significantly impacted mental health and well-being. This study sought to investigate the role of companion animals in alleviating stress and improving mental health during the pandemic. In this study, 250 Australian adults completed measures of well-being and life satisfaction, animal dependency, perceived emotional support from animals, and animals’ effect on mood. Employment and living with others were the strongest predictors of positive life satisfaction and well-being, while greater dependency on companion animals for emotional support and companion animals’ negative effects on mood were associated with reduced life satisfaction and well-being. Qualitative data indicated equivocal results with animals a source of both support and stress, pointing to the complex nature of human–animal relationships, particularly during times of considerable stress. These outcomes have significant implications for welfare, as animals perceived to be annoying or disruptive may be at higher risk of abuse, neglect, and behavioral surrendering

COVID-19 vaccine donations — Vaccine empathy or vaccine diplomacy? A narrative literature review

Introduction: Vaccine inequality inflames the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring equitable immunization, vaccine empathy is needed to boost vaccine donations among capable countries. However, damaging narratives built around vaccine donations such as “vaccine diplomacy” could undermine nations’ willingness to donate their vaccines, which, in turn, further exacerbate global vaccine inequality. However, while discussions on vaccine diplomacy are on the rise, there is limited research related to vaccine diplomacy, especially in terms of its characteristics and effects on vaccine distribution vis-à-vis vaccine empathy. Thus, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to examine the defining attributes of vaccine diplomacy and its potential effects on COVID-19 immunization, particularly in light of vaccine empathy. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to shed light on vaccine diplomacy’s defining attributes and effects in the context of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and dissemination. Databases such as PubMed and Medline were utilized for literature search. Additionally, to ensure up-to-date insights are included in the review, validated reports and reverse tracing of eligible articles’ reference lists in Google Scholar have also been conducted to locate relevant records. Results: Vaccine empathy is an individual or a nation’s capability to sympathize with other individuals or nations’ vaccine wants and needs, whereas vaccine diplomacy is a nation’s vaccine efforts that aim to build mutually beneficial relationships with other nations ultimately. Our findings show that while both vaccine empathy and vaccine diplomacy have their strengths and weaknesses, they all have great potential to improve vaccine equality, particularly amid fast-developing and ever-evolving global health crises such as COVID-19. Furthermore, analyses show that, compared to vaccine empathy, vaccine diplomacy might be a more sustainable solution to improve vaccine donations mainly because of its deeper and stronger roots in multilateral collaboration and cooperation. Conclusion: Similar to penicillin, automated external defibrillators, or safety belts amid a roaring global health disaster, COVID-19 vaccines are, essentially, life-saving consumer health products that should be available to those who need them. Though man-made and complicated, vaccine inequality is nonetheless a solvable issue—gaps in vaccine distribution and dissemination can be effectively addressed by timely vaccine donations. Overall, our study underscores the instrumental and indispensable role of vaccine diplomacy in addressing the vaccine inequality issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its potentials for making even greater contributions in forging global solidarity amid international health emergencies. Future research could investigate approaches that could further inspire and improve vaccine donations among capable nations at a global scale to advance vaccine equity further

Position statement: research and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in rural health journals [Editorial]

No abstract available