The barriers and facilitators that indigenous health workers experience in their workplace and communities in providing self-management support: a multiple case study

摘要

BackgroundThe inequality in health outcomes between Indigenous (Throughout the paper, the term Indigenous will be used to represent both Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander Australians.) and non-Indigenous Australians continues to be a major public health issue. Chronic conditions are responsible for the majority of the gap in life expectancy for this population. Evidence suggests that chronic condition management models focusing on self-management have led to improved health outcomes in Indigenous populations. The Flinders Closing the Gap Program (FCTGP) is a chronic condition care planning tool which aims to engage Indigenous people in self-managing their chronic conditions. Indigenous health workers (IHWs) can provide culturally appropriate self-management support; however there is paucity in current literature describing specific barriers and facilitators that they may experience when attempting to deliver this support. This study aimed to explore IHWs’ perceptions of the effectiveness and appropriateness of the FCTGP, as an evidence-based example of self-management support, and to explore the barriers and facilitators that IHWs experience in their workplace and communities in providing self-management support.