Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2023

Drawing on Aboriginal wisdom and cultural practices to inform program development. (98584)

Tania Harris 1
  1. Health Consumers' Council WA, KENWICK, WA, Australia

Background

In 2018 HCC started working on the Partners in Change project, funded by the WA DoH.  The goal of the Partners in Change Project consumer engagement is to engage meaningfully with people with lived experience of connecting with health services for the management of their overweight or obesity. The consumer engagement will bring consumer voices to the fore to guide discussions, critique, and solution generation in the obesity management services space and lead to practical strategies.

Findings

This work has changed and evolved over the years and continues today.  We have run many workshops and forums and conducted many one-on-one interviews with Aboriginal Elders, parents, community members about weight and obesity and have come to some understandings of how Aboriginal people want to talk about and engage in this topic.

This talk will include practical examples of how clinicians and workers can better engage and work with Aboriginal people and families in a more culturally appropriate way, how you can include Aboriginal people and families at the beginning of your development and why you need to do this in order to make lasting change to communities.