Ethnicity and crime: a statewide analysis by local government areas

There have been two kinds of approaches to looking at crime using local government area analysis: one is to look at particular cases; the other is to consider the entire set of population data derived from local areas studies. This report is of the second kind. While there have been a number of studies looking at crime in local areas they tend to be particular, and include in-depth case studies. This present study is designed to provide information and analysis using parametric data, and is thus is a ‘population’ study rather than a sampling one. Information on police recorded crime rates and selected ethnicity variables were gained from all local government areas in Victoria. The general findings were that high rates of Australian born were related to lower property crime rates and, perhaps more importantly, Australian citizenship is significantly related to lower crime rates across LGAs. A higher rate of Recent Arrivals was strongly related to higher crime rates, and LGAs with rates of people born in Oceana/NZ, non-English speaking countries, other English Speaking Countries and rates of low proficiency in English positively correlates with some forms of crime but to a lesser degree. The difficulty of interpreting official statistics is recognised, as is the value of comprehensive population data on crime and ethnicity. Ill informed comments could have regrettable social implications: indeed there are some well informed comments that may have the same unintended effect. That point is one that a pluralistic democracy may have to tolerate within certain limits. Opportunity structures in host countries have both positive and negative consequences: this article highlights the latter rather than the former. These findings have implications not only for the allocation of resources at local government level but also for immigration policy. Using these data the conclusion is drawn that commitment to the host country, and coping in an alien environment are useful explanations

Applying the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) in Community Based Action Research for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Community based health interventions (CBHIs) in which community members are central to the development of initiatives can provide the impetus for positive health and wellbeing changes and community empowerment. The application of the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) in a qualitative community based action research/health promotion program known as the Community Health Information Collaboration (CHIC) is discussed in this article. Mindful of the need to prevent the growing burden of chronic diseases and conditions in Australia, a primary aim of the CHIC program was to empower participants with health information, knowledge, skills and confidence. The program was conducted over a 10 week period and involved seven culturally and linguistically diverse participants (aged 20-50) who lived or worked in the Brimbank region of Melbourne. Week one to three of the program involved health education while the NGT session in week four and the following five sessions focussed on actions that could be undertaken to improve health and prevent disease in the community. The NGT process and results are discussed in detail and greater utilisation of the technique in community based research is encouraged

Evaluating a model for engaging multicultural communities in dialogue about community improvement

In 2001, researchers from the Wellness Promotion Unit at Victoria University in partnership with the community welfare organization Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service received an Australian Research Council grant to explore community wellness in a disadvantaged multicultural suburb in the Western region of Melbourne (St Albans). As part of this broader project, the present author conducted qualitative research with culturally diverse community members. The research included interviews and focus groups with Maltese, Vietnamese, Italian and Anglo Australians and utilised a holistic model of well being designed to explore the personal, relational and collective aspects of well being/wellness. The purpose of the current paper is to present some of the main findings of the research and to evaluate the utility of the model for engaging multicultural communities in dialogue about community improvement. In summary, the research: 1.) Produced valuable information about the community’s perceptions of personal, relational and collective wellbeing; 2.) Highlighted some of the positive strengths of the community; 3.) Helped us to identify community needs and barriers to wellness and 4.) Pointed to ways to improve well being in the community. The current paper focuses mainly on the first and fourth outcomes. The paper also presents quantitative data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics relating to the region as a contrast to the qualitative information gathered from the community members. The paper will be a resource to anyone wanting to embark on research and community development work in culturally diverse communities

Diversity in Victoria and selected Victorian Hospitals: an overview of country of birth and language preference data 2002

This project forms the quantitative component of the Acute Care Diversity Collaboration (ACDC) Project within the Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health. The ACDC initiative is a Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS) funded project that aims to provide a resource to Victorian hospitals to improve access and service delivery for people from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds. Within this broader context, the present report presents an overview of ethnicity data (country of birth and language) for Victoria, including DHS metropolitan and rural regions. Comparative data is also presented for twenty-one major metropolitan and rural hospitals in the Victorian Acute Health System

Understanding community wellness from a multicultural perspective

This research was part of the first phase of a broader action research project known as the Community Wellness Project. The project was initiated by Isaac Prilleltensky and Heather Gridley from Victoria University and involved a partnership between Victoria University and Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, St Albans (Melbourne, Australia). The present study aimed to explore Prilleltensky’s community wellness model and cycle of praxis in qualitative research with diverse community members from the St Albans region of Melbourne. The emphasis of the study was on the ideals, needs and strengths of the community and on possible actions to improve well-being. Four focus groups with Maltese, Vietnamese, Anglo and Italian community members, and two individual interviews with Maltese and Serbian women were conducted (a total of 31 people). The analysis of findings revealed 15 community ideals or common themes, with three classified as personal, five as relational and seven as collective. The research also pointed to areas of need and strength and recommendations for action to improve well-being in the community

Community centred health promotion and prevention in an Australian context

Chronic diseases have increased dramatically in Australia and around the world over the past decade, causing pain, suffering, disability, psychosocial problems, early mortality and economic and public health crisis. However, many chronic diseases and conditions could be prevented with better evidence based and community based health promotion strategies. Guided by a philosophy of idealism, the aim of this thesis was to develop a community centred health promotion strategy to assist the improvement of health and the prevention of chronic disease in an Australian context. More specifically, the research was concerned with exploring the potentiality of statistical or epidemiological evidence and community collaboration as pathways to chronic disease prevention and improvement of health at an individual, community and system level. The research utilised a praxis paradigm and action research design over three stages. Stage One included in depth quantitative analysis of health and epidemiological data and addressed the question: What is the current evidence/knowledge about health status, determinants and inequalities in Victorian communities and the broader Victorian and Australian context? Stage Two involved qualitative participatory action research methods to engage a small group of community members from the Brimbank region of Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) in the community governance of health promotion and disease prevention. The questions addressed were: What are the benefits of community based health promotion and prevention? What ideas for health promotion action does the community have to offer? Stage Three involved a minor evaluation of the strategy as a whole and addressed the question: In what ways, can health evidence and community involvement in health promotion contribute to better health outcomes? Stage One identified various determinants that impact on health status and result in inequalities. Stage Two revealed six major benefits for community based health promotion and prevention and generated a number of useful ideas for health promotion action in the community. Stage Three showed positive evaluations by the participants and identified numerous indicators of success of the health promotion strategy as a whole

Developing the evidence base for community-governed health promotion and prevention

The community governance or management of health promotion together with evidence about the health of a community is essential to the success of community health collaborations and to community empowerment and change. This paper offers an introductory review of the literature on evidence based public health and health promotion and provides a rationale and method for developing an evidence-based resource to support the community governance of health promotion. The review outlines the origin of and current debate around evidence-based health promotion; and presents a model that describes the use of two major forms of evidence referred to as guiding and evaluative evidence. While two forms of evidence are described (guiding and evaluative) the importance of guiding evidence for community-based and community-governed collaborations is emphasised and is the primary focus of this paper. The Australian national health priority areas are introduced, and a second model, which draws attention to determinants of health, inequalities in health and health status is offered. The model will be used to guide data collection and analysis in the first stage of an ongoing research thesis and subsequent health promotion activities with community members in the second stage of the research

Wellness and liberation in the lives of culturally diverse communities: phase-one of the community wellness project

The promotion of wellness and liberation in culturally diverse communities requires input from a wide range of community stakeholders including community members and community service providers/professionals. Collaboration with community members enables a grounded understanding of diverse community needs and facilitates the translation of values into action. In this paper we discuss two qualitative research projects, which employed a holistic model of wellness/well-being to explore perceptions of well-being among diverse community members and service providers/professionals from the St Albans region. The general aim of the studies was to gain a theoretical and practical understanding of well-being for this community. Findings from both projects support the utility of the model in generating a rich dialogue on factors that may lead us closer to community wellness and liberation

Engaging community in a cycle of praxis: multicultural perspectives on personal, relational and collective wellness

This study employed an action research model known as the community wellness cycle of praxis in research with culturally diverse community members from the St Albans region (Melbourne, Australia). The major aim of the study was to gain a theoretical and pragmatic understanding of well-being from a multicultural perspective. In order to meet this aim, a qualitative study was designed to find out (1) What are the community ideals; needs; and strengths of residents of St Albans, and (2) What actions can be undertaken to improve the well-being of the community? The research involved focus groups with a total of 29 Anglo, Maltese, Vietnamese and Italian community members. The first research question was addressed by asking community members systematically about positive and negative aspects of personal, relational and collective well-being. The second research question was addressed by asking community members to generate ideas on what could be done to improve well-being and by identifying issues of concern that emerged throughout the research. The issues identified by participants offer a rich picture of community ideals, strengths and needs, as well as possible actions that could improve personal, relational and collective wellness in St Albans