Bindjareb Yorgas Health Program: Improving the Health of Women and Families

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Context: The Bindjareb Yorgas Health Program (BYHP) project addresses the high prevalence of health issues experienced by Aboriginal women and their families (Thomson et al., 2010) through the establishment of a holistic community owned and developed health and wellness program. The BYHP is being developed at the request of the Bindjareb women from the Murray District Aboriginal Association in Pinjarra, following the success of a 2011 seed project, “The Deadly Koolinga Chefs” (DKC). The DKC program was conducted by the study’s PhD student and funded by the Community Development Foundation (CDF). The project engaged a group of 12 year old Bindjareb children in a 12 week nutrition and cooking adventure, where they learned how to plan, shop for and prepare a healthy meal for four. Each week the children took home their prepared meals, together with their new skills and knowledge, to share with their family. This resulted in a request by the Bindjareb women for a broader health promotion program to address the health and wellbeing of the community’s women and by association, their families. In collaboration with the Bindjareb women, using an aboriginal approach based on “unity’ and “wholeness” (Wingard & Lester, 2001) a suite of programs is being developed (see Appendix A). The BYHP, for which Healthway funding is being sought, is the first of these to be undertaken and comprises four components: group fitness and exercise sessions; nutrition education and cooking classes; vegetable growing and Nyungar lore, communicated through Kaartdijin yarning sessions. This combination was agreed upon as it specifically addressed the Bindjareb women’s concerns regarding the need for a more culturally appropriate approach to health promotion to address health issues being experienced in their community. Objectives: This intervention aims to extend knowledge surrounding existing health promotion initiatives previously designed in Aboriginal communities by implementing a program that ensures community ownership and development of the program. It will focus specifically on three action areas for undertaking health promotion: creating supportive environments to encourage equitable access; strengthening community actions to enable empowerment; and the development of personal skills in achieving and maintaining wellness. Methods: The intervention has been developed using a multi-faceted approach to promoting healthy eating and improved fitness within the context of Nyungar lore. To ensure a culturally appropriate means, of assessing the outcomes, a holistic descriptive case study method (Yin, 2009) will be used, where the researchers will seek to narratively explore the impact on participant’s health behaviours in relation to the development of, and participation in, the BYHP. The data will be collected with the assistance of the Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW) and the Aboriginal Research Associate (RA). Data sources will therefore include yarning groups, interviews, direct observations and participant-observations and will be collected over the course of the intervention and the year to follow. The program will take place during the school terms in the Mother of All Sheds (MOASH) building, a community centre provided by the CDF and, situated on the grounds of the Pinjarra Primary School. Expected benefits: This intervention project, whilst facilitating community ownership and leadership of an Aboriginal health promotion program aims to provide both short and long term improvements in the physical activity and healthy eating habits that will translate into improved fitness and weight loss, and empowerment through increased health knowledge. These have important implications for the health and well-being and the social and community capacity of the Bindjareb community in Pinjarra and may also serve as a template for similar health promotion programs in other communities. In addition, identifying environments that encourage Aboriginal participation and are nurturing to both attitudes and aptitudes of good health behaviours may have positive implications on future policy development and infrastructure planning related to Aboriginal health.

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