Aboriginal families in hospital | |
Lookin' after our own. Supporting Aboriginal families through the hospital experience. Angela Clarke, Shawana Andrews, Neville Austin. Melbourne: VicHealth, 2000 (164 pp). ISBN: 0 616 37563 6. |
Lookin' after our own
is an attractively presented report describing a project funded by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation. It is written from a Koori perspective by three Aboriginal liaison workers from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and is directed towards "...Aboriginal people struggling to find their place within a large mainstream bureaucracy such as a public hospital". The book outlines the history of the development of the hospital's Aboriginal Family Support Unit and describes a model that assists families whose children attend the hospital. It begins by giving an important historical perspective to the contact that some Aboriginals have had with government services and points out the sometimes negative role that hospitals played during the years when assimilation was government policy. Being in hospital can be a very traumatic experience for Aboriginal families, so increasing the numbers and expanding the role of Aboriginal hospital liaison workers is vital. As such, the book deals with an important topic within an area where there is a paucity of books available. Some segments of the text provide very useful information for medical practitioners, particularly the different communication styles used by many Aboriginal people. It is written in a "chatty", parochial manner, making it easy to read. Lookin' after our own should be reviewed and promoted through Aboriginal media and Aboriginal health worker journals. It will provide encouragement to other Aboriginal hospital liaison workers and those trying to set up similar support systems in public hospitals throughout Australia. Nicholas J Williams
|