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What predicts health students’ self-reported preparedness to work in Indigenous health settings?

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Abstract

Australian undergraduate programs are implementing curriculum aimed at better preparing graduates to work in culturally diverse settings, but there remains uncertainty over the role of extant student attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. To begin to address this, we obtained baseline data on student attitudes upon entry to tertiary education. 1175 health science first-year students (275 males, 897 females) completed an anonymous in-class paper questionnaire. On average, students reported positive attitudes towards Indigenous Australians, with female students reporting more positive attitudes than male and domestic students more positive than international. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that after controlling for demographic variables, interactional diversity experiences and attitudes accounted for significant variance in a range of measures of preparedness to work in Indigenous health contexts. The knowledge gained will inform the development of, and alignment between, curriculum and pedagogical approaches, leading to an improved facilitation model for educators in the Indigenous Studies context.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank all the individuals who volunteered their time to assist with data collection for this research project, and the coordinators and tutors of the Indigenous Cultures and Health unit for granting us access to their classrooms to administer the research surveys.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia

    Jonathan Bullen, Lynne Roberts & Julie Hoffman

Authors
  1. Jonathan Bullen
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  2. Lynne Roberts
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  3. Julie Hoffman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Bullen.

Appendix

Appendix

Impact of the Aboriginal Health Undergraduate Curriculum questionnaire

Social priority

 The state of Aboriginal health is a social priority

 Trust is key for culturally secure health care

 Feeling intimidated is a barrier to culturally secure health care

Health service

 The Western medical model suits the health needs of Aboriginal people

 The state of Aboriginal health is mainly due to lack of funding for health services

 Aboriginal people have the same level of access to health services as all other Australians

 The health care issues for Aboriginal people are basically the same across Australia

 Aboriginal people should take more individual responsibility for improving their own health

Preparedness

 I feel well prepared to improve the health of Aboriginal people

 I feel well prepared to advocate for improvements in Aboriginal health

 I will be able to apply knowledge of Aboriginal health to provide culturally secure healthcare

 I will be able to practice equity in the provision of service by treating Aboriginal patients the same as all my other patients

 I communicate appropriately with Aboriginal people

 I have a good understanding of the holistic concept of health in relation to Aboriginal matters

 I have the ability to communicate effectively with Aboriginal patients by myself

Future commitment

 I will work for changes in Aboriginal health as a personal priority in my health practice

 I have a social responsibility to work for changes  in Aboriginal health

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Bullen, J., Roberts, L. & Hoffman, J. What predicts health students’ self-reported preparedness to work in Indigenous health settings?. Aust. Educ. Res. 44, 71–87 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-017-0230-2

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