PHCA9504 First Nations Health and Well-Being

This topic employs Indigenous knowledges (Knowing, Being and Doing), drawing of the lived experience and shared voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and First Nations peoples internationally, and their connection to health and well-being. This topic critically engages with dominant Western frameworks and their interplay in ‘truth’, ‘power’, ‘science’ and ‘politics’ in creating colonial structures which enforce marginalisation, deficit discourses and problematic constructions of First Nations Health and Wellbeing in Australia.

Students will advance their philosophical, theoretical and practical understanding of First Nations Health and Well-Being
• Students will engage with Indigenous knowledges and develop skills on Indigenous research methods

1. Identify and illustrate the multiple determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and well-being
2. Synthesise connections between the social determinants, social gradient, and health equities in First Nations health
3. Analyse and interpret colonial processes and their connection to ongoing marginalisation for First Nations peoples
4. Critically analyse and critique key health indicators for First Nations people
5. Evaluate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander public health policy and programs
6. Develop reflexivity skills in First Nations health