Dear Vikki

This topic has been worked by some Communication for Development and Social Change (C4D) experts, such as Jan Servaes and, more deeply, Patchanee Malikhao.

You can see her ResearchGate Profile (and her works) at:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patchanee_Malikhao

And her influential article on advocacy strategy for health communication at:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223722061_Advocacy_strategies_for_health_communication

See also her Academia profile:

https://umass.academia.edu/PatchaneeMalikhao

And a thalk he gave some times ago on Advocacy, Culture, Religion and Health:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-NeCYfN34g.

See also the works of Rico Lie:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rico_Lie

And, if you have the time, my book on Partecipatory Communication (with a special focus on Indigenous People):

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224946647_Comunicar_la_Paz._Estudios_sobre_comunicacin_y_medios_para_las_comunidades

Best regards

Article Advocacy strategies for health communication

Book Comunicar la Paz. Estudios sobre comunicación y medios para ...

These references are extremely helpful. Thank you so very much. Vikki 

This is a difficult question - the problem of consumer advocacy for Indigenous people. My field of training and research is health, so I can answer a little with regard to health advocacy. There can be such a schism between concepts of public health (how it is to be defined, and where the boundaries of duty lie between trying to ensure adequate healthcare on the one hand, and exerting pressure to accept treatments on the other hand, that are at times unwanted due to cultural differences), and Indigenous concepts of wellbeing, health, happiness, community, etc, which are sometimes very much at odds with the mainstream view. What I believe is that a greater understanding evolves through cultivating your own direct (experiential?) knowledge about the specific Indigenous group you are studying - what do they believe about health (or other 'product'/'services'), how is their health impacted by social and environmental and historic circumstances and events (e.g. colonial history causing displacement), and how do they conceptually and philosophically understand the workings of the world in general and their place in it (cosmology?) and perceive health as part of that.

The following is a truly excellent paper about community building for Aboriginal people (it will be available through major academic databases):

TAYLOR, Judy, Jane Edwards, Sonia Champion, Simon Cheers, Alwin Chong, Rachel Cummins, and Brian Cheers (2012), ‘Towards a conceptual understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and community functioning’, in Community Development Journal, vol.47, no.1, pp.94-110.

The next paper describes the use of cultural immersion to improve treatment of alcoholics, etc, suggesting that culture itself IS a type of treatment:

BRADY, Maggie (1995), ‘Culture in Treatment, Culture as Treatment, A critical appraisal of developments in addictions programs for Indigenous North Americans and Australians’, in Social Science and Medicine, vol.41, no.11, pp.1487-1498.

There is another paper by a group of women; the first one's last name is Fredericks, about improving services and engagement for ATSI (Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) women, but I don't have the name with me at present, sorry, but it was found on searching databases.

One more paper I thought of was a literature review about ATSI cultural and health services papers, which I believe was available on the internet (Google). There is quite a lot out there, if you look carefully through it. Literature on social network theory pertaining to ATSI communities and wellbeing, and about the roles and status of Aboriginal Health Workers compared to western health workers, may also be very useful. Best regards.

Hi Tass,

Thanks so much for responding. Yes I agree with your comments and this is why our program is being developed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people. Through our DISCOVER-TT CRE and other related programs including NiCAN - which again have been driven and are governed by Indigenous stakeholders, we have been fortunate to engage Indigenous cancer survivors who are keen to be involved in our work as Ambassadors. They are keen to dispel myths regarding cancer and to encourage others to partake in screening programs and treatment. In other words, these Indigenous survivors, and other Indigenous stakeholders, identify cancer as a priority area for action in their communities. 

The search of literature pertaining to advocacy is being done as a scoping exercise only - just to see what's out there.  Ultimately the training program and network will be designed and delivered by Indigenous Australians. For now, we are seeking specific examples of community based advocacy efforts. For example, we are pretty confident that in Australia there has only been one Advocacy program that has been implemented in the area of cancer. We will also send a survey out to try to capture Advocacy related initiatives that may have been implemented by Aboriginal people in other areas. Part of our aim is to develop a supportive network with existing contacts including Menzies School of Health Research and Cancer Council QLD. Thus we're keen to find out what's worked, what hasn't, what additional resources/supports are required etc.

We are utilising a CBPR based approach but I will also follow up on the other articles you suggest. They do indeed sound relevant. The initial program will be developed for QLD only with later work rolling out to other states.  

For your interest, I've included a link to our DISCOVER-TT CRE:

http://www.menzies.edu.au/page/Research/Centres_initiatives_and_projects/Centre_for_Research_Excellence_Cancer/

Thanks again

Vikki

Hey! thanks for your reply!

I hope this project works out really well! and wish all the best of good wishes to you and your team. I noticed also in Maurizio's reply, in the abstract of his book (tho my Spanish is woeful), that he mentions something about the paradigm of work, which seems to relate to your own publications, and I think is also an important conceptual point when appreciating the meanings of society and culture (including re health activities) and the cultural attitudes of Indigenous people.

cheers, Tass

Thanks Tass. Yes I thought the same re Maurizio's publication. Too much text for Google Translate I suspect. Yes cultural meanings very important.

Thanks for your best wishes. I'll let you know how we progress.