Melissa Haswell

Psychometric validation of the Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM) applied with Indigenous Australians

Objective: Empowerment is a complex process of psychological, social, organizational and structural change. It allows individuals and groups to achieve positive growth and effectively address the social and psychological impacts of historical oppression, marginalization and disadvantage. The Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM) was developed to measure change in dimensions of empowerment as defined and described by Aboriginal Australians who participated in the Family Well Being programme. Method: The GEM has two components: a 14-item Emotional Empowerment Scale (EES14) and 12 Scenarios (12S). It is accompanied by the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale (K6), supplemented by two questions assessing frequency of happy and angry feelings. For validation, the measure was applied with 184 Indigenous Australian participants involved in personal and/or organizational social health activities. Results: Psychometric analyses of the new instruments support their validity and reliability and indicate two-component structures for both the EES (Self-capacity; Inner peace) and the 12S (Healing and enabling growth, Connection and purpose). Strong correlations were observed across the scales and subscales. Participants who scored higher on the newly developed scales showed lower distress on the K6, particularly when the two additional questions were included. However, exploratory factor analyses demonstrated that GEM subscales are separable from the Kessler distress measure. Conclusion: The GEM shows promise in enabling measurement and enhancing understanding of both process and outcome of psychological and social empowerment within an Australian Indigenous context.

Promoting the health of Aboriginal Australians through empowerment: eliciting the components of the Family well-being empowerment and leadership programme

Most policies addressing Aboriginal health in Australia promote initiatives that are based on empowerment principles. Articulated programme components are necessary to support personal and group empowerment and to assist individuals in gaining the sense of control and purposefulness needed to exert their political and personal power in the face of the severe stress and powerlessness faced by the Australian Aboriginal people. This paper aims to provide a detailed description of the mechanisms underpinning a ‘bottom-up’ empowerment initiative, the Family well-being empowerment and leadership programme (FWB), and to analyze how the programme supports empowerment. The five stages of FWB were described and the validity of this model was assessed through the combination of participatory observation, documentation analysis, literature review, semi-structured interviews and iterative feedback with different analytical perspectives. Our study results articulated four distinct programme components: the setting plus inter-relational, educational and experiential actions. FWB is an example of the promotion of both outcome and process pathways towards empowerment. Potential applications of the programme are discussed.

Improving health service access and wellbeing of young Aboriginal parents in an urban setting: mixed methods evaluation of an arts‐based program

Objectives: To evaluate an urban art‐based community health program (Ngala Nanga Mai; We Dream) that seeks to improve health, education, empowerment and connectedness of Aboriginal parents by describing paediatric health service attendance, maternal educational engagement, participant growth and empowerment, and worker and participant experiences.

The value of partnerships: lessons from a multi-site evaluation of a national social and emotional wellbeing program for Indigenous youth.

Objective: To evaluate the first three years of a national program to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous youth in remote and regional Australia.

Indigenous men's groups and social and emotional well-being: an indigenous doctor's perspective.

Objectives: Traditional indigenous society promoted the social and emotional well-being of indigenous men through the meeting of men in daily life and during ceremonial times. There is an increasing recognition that men’s groups use similar mechanisms to enhance the social and emotional well-being of participants and their communities. This paper seeks to increase understanding of the processes and impacts of contemporary indigenous men’s groups from an indigenous doctor’s perspective. Method: Review of published and unpublished literature and reflections on the primary author’s experiences within several indigenous men’s groups using a participatory action research model were used to examine how participation within these groups can improve social and emotional well-being. Results: There is a scarcity of published data on the distribution, activities and outcomes of indigenous men’s groups. Published qualitative and experiential observations suggest that they contribute to improved social and emotional well-being for participants, their families and communities. Conclusions: Men’s groups may be a good adjunct to the outpatient care of indigenous patients. As the published literature is entirely qualitative, mixed methods evaluation using appropriate and sensitive measures would assist in systematically capturing the impacts and outcomes of men’s groups. Such evaluations could enhance programme longevity and encourage the referral of patients by mainstream mental health practitioners.

Harms unknown: health uncertainties cast doubt on the role of unconventional gas in Australia's energy future.

210 MJA 200 (4) · 3 March 2014 main sources of public concern. While the risk of well casing failure, spills and other accidents cannot be dismissed,3,4 these can be mitigated (though not removed entirely) by proper regulation and the move towards “safer” fracturing fl uids. However, although any exposure would likely be to heavily diluted chemicals, the toxicological effects of some chemicals in their dilute form are not well understood.5,6 In particular, chemicals affecting the endocrine system — such as ethoxylated 4-nonylphenol, which has been used in Australian operations6 — can affect humans at extremely low quantities.7 The fate of stranded fracturing fl uids (those remaining underground) has also not been well established, and there is a signifi cant failure rate for abandoned wells in the United States, leading to materials leaking into the surrounding areas.8 Additionally, while the minor seismic activity caused by fracturing is unlikely to result in earthquakes of a magnitude that can be felt, it introduces a further risk of damage to well casings. However it is wastewater, which contains naturally occurring contaminants that are diffi cult and costly to Alicia Coram PhD Research Associate, Nossal Institute for Global Health