Strong Fathers Strong Families - Addressing Social Determinants Of Health In An Essay.

Importance of Indigenous Fathers and Male Relatives in Children’s Lives

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)

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)

Indigenous people of Australia have to possess increased levels of education, health and 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)

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 economic growth through the promotion of various cultural aspects. Cultural expression and activities such as language are crucial for the preservation of culture and bringing the community and society closer. Policies that preserve culture, support the conservation of traditional information and promotion of heritage and ethical tourism. The three ways in which the Strong Fathers Strong Families program supported culture or cultural identity are as follows-

• 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. 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