course material

1. HWEL2002 Understanding Health
Answer:
Outline Of The Program:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fathers and other male relatives are encouraged by the
Australian Government to be active participants in the lives of their children and families,
especially during the early development years of childhood. Community workers promote
their roles, through the “Strong Fathers Strong Families” programme, introduced in May
2010. (Indigenous.gov.au, 2022)
Social Determinants Of Health And Their Impact:
Within the Strong Father Strong Families (SFSF) program the social determinants of health
(SDOH) were addressed proactively. The three most important SDOH that are addressed
within the program are as follows-
Education: Providing men with education on crucial topics such as alcohol and drugs, early-
childhood development, family relationships and violence and parenting.
Promotion of healthy lifestyles and other habits.
SFSF coordinators helped men manage Family Relationship Issues, unemployment, anger
management issues and alcohol and drug-related problems, unstable housing issues,
financial pressures such as child support payments and problems related to mental health
such as depression. (AIHW, 2020)
Social determinants of health are the environmental and social conditions that can influence
the health of communities and populations in the places where they work, learn and live.
These determinants are affected by the value systems, resources and political systems. The
identification of social determinants of health allows their integration in health planning,
public initiatives for the improvement in the status of health of populations and individuals.
(Deatrick, 2017; AIHW, 2020)
Influence On The Communities:
Indigenous people of Australia have to possess increased levels of education, health and

2. cultural knowledge to grow strong as a community. (Prehn, Guerzoni & Peacock, 2021) The
altered mental health conditions among Indigenous men due to economic issues such as
unstable housing, unemployment, financial pressure and social issues such as family
relationships, anger management and substance abuse problems that affect them, have
resulted in an increased risk of suicide. The absence of indigenous men from fulfilling their
male role and responsibilities has been linked to living unhealthy lifestyles and living less
meaningfully where they suffer from poor physical and psychological health status, in
comparison to men belonging to the non-indigenous population. Additionally, male
parenting has been shown to improve family harmony and the development of children in
Indigenous and low-income societies. (Reilly & Rees, 2018) Fathers are crucial in allowing
Indigenous children to fulfil their goals; Indigenous men experience increased levels of
negative social situations which creates a barrier and hinders them from playing the role of
a father. Aboriginal-specific programs focusing on fathering help those men in overcoming
those barriers and becoming the role models their children need.
The Social Determinants of Health that are addressed in the Strong Father Strong Families
program tackles important factors such as lack of awareness and education, improvement
of lifestyle and providing resources for men suffering from mental and socio-economic
issues. The program guides them through physical activities such as gym, sports activities,
nutritional information sessions and cooking that will promote their involvement in the
family’s nutrition and holistic wellbeing. This helps the Indigenous community men from
preventing chronic diseases such as cancers, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases
among others. Australia’s Indigenous people have experienced increased rates of family and
intimate partner violence and they suffer from poor sexual and reproductive outcomes. The
program provided educational courses for a defined period where the Indigenous men
could learn about early childhood development, parenting, family relationships and
violence; the knowledge they gained from these courses allowed them to make informed,
responsible choices in family planning and improve their health literacy conditions within
the community. The awareness from alcohol, drugs and violence education enabled these
men to lower the violence rates as well. Lastly, the confidential one-on-one discussions the
coordinators had with these men, allowed them to express their emotions and concerns
without the burden of community stigma. Unemployment has a strong impact on mental
and physical health, causing psychosocial stress. Homelessness is another factor that
presents mental and physical health harm in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people. This community is particularly affected as they live in poor-quality, low-income
housing, where they are either underemployed or unemployed. The resources provided by
the program coordinators, direct them to the appropriate help where they can seek
professional guidance on their mental health conditions such as depression, having suicidal
thoughts or others. They are also educated on handling financial pressures and be trained in
skills that could help them in finding jobs to support their families and their aspirations.
(AIHW, 2020; Deatrick, 2017; Macniven et al., 2019; Duley et al., 2016; Murrup-Stewart et
al., 2019; Indigenous.gov.au, 2022)

3. Importance Of Culture Incorporation In The Program:
The incorporation of culture in programs targeted for a particular group or community
ensures Sustainable Development The sector of culture plays a role in boosting
They recruited Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers for the program to ensure the
participants are in a comfortable environment surrounded by people they are familiar with.
The Strong Fathers Strong Families Coordinators were Indigenous workers who had
become the main resource person within the communities that were introduced to the
program. They were able to provide a service that managed the issues of the participating
Indigenous men through one-on-one sessions that were helpful to them.
The incorporation of culturally appropriate antenatal, health services and other such
programs that were provided in an increased manner to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander males. These services contributed positively to the ability of males in supporting
the well-being and health of the pregnant mother, providing a nurturing family
environment for their child. They were encouraged to develop knowledge that was
culturally sensitive and ideal of fatherhood in their culture. The use of Aboriginal ways for
learning includes modes such as narration, visualising explicit processes, hands-on
methods, images, metaphors and symbols, environmental practice, interdisciplinary, direct
and innovative approaches, connection to local knowledge, values, needs and modelling by
working from wholes to parts have been proven to have positive outcomes during health
initiative programs.
Finally, the Strong Fathers Strong Families program offered cultural camp days where the
participants had an opportunity to practise and learn about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander cultures. Aboriginal artists were invited to camps to teach the participants
Aboriginal art where they displayed their enthusiasm and engagement in activities such as
boomerang making, didgeridoo playing and making traditional fish traps and fishing spears.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander method of sharing knowledge and experiences
known as ‘Yarning sessions’ were also conducted in the program, where men’s groups
gathered to increase knowledge and function as referral sites where people with issues
were provided with information about other health providers in the community. Along with
the exchange of information and knowledge, these groups also participated in education,
health-related activities and fitness sessions.
Therefore, the incorporation of culture into the Indigenous health promotion programs is
important as it encourages the participants to engage in activities that are culturally related,
also allows the transmittance of important and sensitive knowledge in a culturally
appropriate manner. (Reilly & Rees, 2018; Prehn, Guerzoni & Peacock, 2020;
Indigenous.gov.au, 2022)
References:
AIHW. (2020). Social determinants of health - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

4. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/social-determinants-of-health
Deatrick, J. A. (2017). Where is “family” in the social determinants of health? Implications
for family nursing practice, research, education, and policy. Journal of Family
Nursing, 23(4), 423-433. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074840717735287
Duley, P., Botfield, J. R., Ritter, T., Wicks, J., & Brassil, A. (2016). The Strong Family Program:
an innovative model to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth and Elders with
reproductive and sexual health community education. Health Promotion Journal of
Australia, 28(2), 132–138. https://doi.org/10.1071/HE16015
Indigenous.gov.au. (2022). Strong fathers, strong families. Indigenous.gov.au.
https://www.indigenous.gov.au/strong-fathers-strong-families
Macniven, R., Canuto, K., Wilson, R., Bauman, A., & Evans, J. (2019). The impact of physical
activity and sport on social outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: a
systematic scoping review. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 22(11), 1232-1242.
https://doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2019.06.017
Murrup?Stewart, C., Searle, A. K., Jobson, L., & Adams, K. (2019). Aboriginal perceptions of
social and emotional wellbeing programs: A systematic review of literature assessing social
and emotional wellbeing programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
perspectives. Australian Psychologist, 54(3), 171-186. sci-hub.st/10.1111/ap.12367
Prehn, J., Guerzoni, M. A., & Peacock, H. (2021). ‘Learning her culture and growing up
strong’: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander fathers, children and the sharing of
culture. Journal of Sociology, 57(3), 595-611. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783320934188
Reilly, L., & Rees, S. (2018). Fatherhood in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities: An examination of barriers and opportunities to strengthen the male
parenting role. American journal of men's health, 12(2), 420-430.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988317735928