Brokering Aboriginal people’s social and health service connections: A Program Facilitator’s reflection: A Program Facilitator’s reflection

In the Australian context, the social determinants of health (SDH) are estimated to contribute up to 31% of the overall burden of disease experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Wardliparingga Aboriginal Heath Equity (SAHMRI) has designed a program which seeks to identify the social and cultural needs of Aboriginal people as the starting point to empowering action on the SDH. This presentation will provide perspectives from a Facilitator on the program implementation stages and emerging findings. The Program is a Facilitator-led process employing strengths-based practice to enhance participant’s capacity in self-efficacy and opportunities for individuals and families to achieve health equity. Facilitators identify areas of unmet social and cultural need, engage in a goal setting process and broker relationships with social and health service providers. Unmet social and cultural needs such as health care access, psychosocial status and the increasing cost of living are contributing to inequitable health outcomes. Analyses will include reflections on the Program’s unique assessment tool, informed by Aboriginal holistic views of health, including 13 socio-cultural domains (e.g. education, housing, safety), multiple face-to-face sessions to broker service access, and goals achieved. Facilitator reflections from engaging in a strengths-based approach during sessions and personalised goal setting methods indicates that the process of brokering access has supported their social and cultural connections within community. The Program is building an evidence base on how to make an impact across the SDH and how to evaluate these actions across the broader social and health system.