Participatory research approaches are becoming increasingly established in both academic and practice settings. The participation of people with varied lived experiences and professional backgrounds can help academia and practitioners to learn from and empower each other. In the exchange of different perspectives, needs and ideas, it is possible to plan, reflect on, implement and evaluate projects in the health sector jointly and with attention to the needs of all stakeholders. The Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Model is often used internationally to guide participatory processes. However, an accessible translation has been lacking for application in German-speaking countries. To address this problem, a multidisciplinary working group composed of academic researchers and practitioners came together within the German-speaking Participatory Health Research Network (PartNet) to adapt the CBPR model for German-speaking countries and to test the adapted version with potential users. The adaptation was more than a translation, as the four model components "Contexts", "Partnership Processes", "Intervention & Research" and "Outcomes" as well as their associated contents are not directly applicable to the socio-structural and political contexts of the German-speaking countries. This article describes the process of adapting the model. This includes how translation drafts for German-speaking countries were first discussed in detail and then agreed upon as an initial template for testing in practice. Subsequently, various users reflected on the German-language model based on their experience of testing it in different projects, focusing on accuracy, comprehensibility and applicability. At the same time, the model was presented and discussed at conferences. The diverse feedback was incorporated into further revisions of the model. The result is a German-language version called "Modell fur partizipative Gesundheitsforschung (PGF-Modell)".

The question of how Aboriginal Elders influence the leadership of non-Aboriginal led service organisations when working biddiya to biddiya (boss to boss) emerged while conducting a qualitative analysis as part of the evaluation of the Looking Forward Moving Forward project. This project brought together non-Aboriginal service leaders, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers to implement and evaluate a framework for engagement to promote organisational change and transform the way in which services respond to Aboriginal people in need of mental health and drug and alcohol support in Perth, Western Australia. This paper uses a case study to demonstrate how Elders on Nyoongar Country have influenced one non-Aboriginal service leader. At the heart of this case study is a close examination of a recorded, semi-structured, in-depth focus group exchange between a non-Aboriginal leader, Elders and co-researchers. This exchange foregrounds the Elders’ and co-researchers’ voices, capturing the dialogic nuances and interplay of the interaction to provide a more detailed picture of how building long-term relationships with Elders influences leaders. A key theme to emerge from the data was the developmental change in leadership approaches resulting from the biddiya to biddiya working relationship between Elders and this non-Aboriginal leader. The data show that, along with their deepening relationship, the leader demonstrated an openness and humility to be teachable. This leader demonstrated how he applied his new learning, integrating new ways of working into his leadership practice to change the way his organisation responded to Aboriginal people seeking support and to enhance the organisation’s cultural safety.

State and National Government policies in Australia increasingly emphasise the need for partnerships and relationships to deliver positive outcomes for First Nations peoples. However, whether these partnerships embody First Nations relational ways of working, or meet the needs and priorities of communities, is not well known. An Aboriginal participatory action research project, grounded in an Aboriginal research methodology, Debakarn, Koorliny Wangkiny, brought together Elders, young people and service providers in Perth, Western Australia, to co-design an ethical decision-making framework. Applying the knowledge and wisdom of Elders, this framework was trialled with three community service organisations to assess the cultural safety of their service provision to Aboriginal people. The findings suggest that this co-designed ethical decision-making framework can be used to implement ethical standards and embed more authentic culturally safe practices and processes by developing meaningful relationships with First Nations People and Communities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages can be seen as an integral aspect of cultural health. While colonisation has had devastating effects upon Indigenous languages, communities are increasingly reclaiming their languages, as a means to cultural preservation, community wellbeing and healing. Currently, there are no tools that specifically measure the potential positive impacts of language revival on the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples. This article brings together two broad constructs, social and emotional wellbeing and language reclamation, and describes an approach to developing a survey instrument to measure the relationship between Indigenous languages and wellbeing. With an emphasis on decolonising approaches to research, it steps out the key activities undertaken to develop the Indigenous Language and Wellbeing Survey. This article highlights the importance of addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research priorities. It also shows how qualitative material can guide the development of a quantitative survey in mixed-methods research.

ZusammenfassungPartizipative Forschungsansätze etablieren sich zunehmend sowohl im wissenschaftlichen als auch im praxisorientierten Gesundheitsbereich. Die aktive Beteiligung von Menschen in verschiedenen Lebenssituationen und Arbeitsbereichen kann dabei helfen, dass Wissenschaft und Praxis voneinander lernen und sich gegenseitig stärken. Im Austausch zu unterschiedlichen Sichtweisen, Erfahrungen und Ideen können gesundheitsorientierte Projekte gemeinsam und bedarfsorientiert geplant, reflektiert, durchgeführt und evaluiert werden. Das „Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Model“ wird international oft für die konzeptionelle Fundierung und praktische Orientierung in partizipativen Prozessen genutzt. Für eine niedrigschwellige Anwendung im deutschsprachigen Raum fehlte bislang eine entsprechende Übersetzung. Vor diesem Hintergrund fand sich innerhalb des Netzwerks Partizipative Gesundheitsforschung (PartNet) eine multidisziplinär zusammengesetzte Arbeitsgruppe mit Expertise in Forschung und Praxis zusammen, um das CBPR-Modell für den deutschsprachigen Raum aufzubereiten und durch potentielle Anwender:innen erproben zu lassen. Da die vier Modellkomponenten „Contexts“ „Partnership Processes“ „Intervention & Research“ und „Outcomes“ sowie ihre dazugehörigen Elemente und Erklärungsbeispiele teilweise aufgrund alternativer Bedeutungszuweisungen oder unterschiedlicher sozialstruktureller und politischer Kontexte nicht eins zu eins zu übertragen sind, war hierfür neben einer Übersetzung eine Adaption an den deutschsprachigen Raum nötig. Mit diesem Beitrag wird dargelegt, wie zunächst kleinschrittig Übersetzungsvorschläge für den deutschsprachigen Raum diskutiert und im Sinne einer ersten Vorlage für eine Praxiserprobung konsentiert wurden. Anschließend reflektierten verschiedene Anwender:innen das sodann deutschsprachige Modell und erprobten es in unterschiedlichen Projekten, um es hinsichtlich seiner Passgenauigkeit, Verständlichkeit und Eignung zu prüfen. Parallel wurde das Modell auf Konferenzen vorgestellt und diskutiert. Die vielfältigen Rückmeldungen flossen in die weiteren Überarbeitungen des Modells ein. Der Arbeitsprozess mündete in einer finalen deutschsprachigen Fassung als „Modell für partizipative Gesundheitsforschung (PGF-Modell)“.

From 2014 to 2022, the BMBF has funded five research networks in prevention research and health promotion that are also jointly coordinated (Research Network Primary Prevention and Health Promotion, www.fp2g.net). The researchers have produced a large number of relevant research outputs with insights gained into essential aspects of prevention research and health promotion. The networks research focused on basic principles, application-relevant findings, and implementation conditions of long-term prevention and health promotion for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The constraints imposed by the pandemic from 2020 onwards were partly addressed by integrating Corona-related research and transfer activities. The importance of resilience for dealing with multiple health and social challenges got increased attention and was analyzed and discussed during the pandemic. For prevention research, research questions such as how to better implement prevention measures through digital tools are gaining additional importance. Together, the research networks have presented achievements and desiderata for future research. This perspective paper with its nine theses formulated in conclusion is intended as a stimulus for discussion among funders as well as the communty of researchers on the subject of successful prevention and health promotion. It is explicitly part of the continuity of the memoranda on prevention research developed in 2012.

Aboriginal young people are experts in their own experience and are best placed to identify the solutions to their mental health and wellbeing needs. Given that Aboriginal young people experience high rates of mental health concerns and are less likely than non-Indigenous young people to access mental health services, co-design and evaluation of appropriate mental health care is a priority. Increasing Aboriginal young people's participation in mental health service reform is key to ensuring services are culturally secure, relevant and accessible. This paper presents first-person accounts from three Aboriginal young people who worked alongside their Elders and in a positive and constructive partnership with mainstream mental health services on a three-year participatory action research project in Perth, Western Australia, in Whadjuk Nyoongar boodja (Country). The young people recount their experiences as participants and co-researchers on a systems change mental health research project and share their views on the importance of privileging Aboriginal youth voices. Their accounts highlight that Aboriginal young people's participation and leadership must be understood through a decolonising lens and that working in genuine partnership with the community is key to increasing their contact and engagement with mental health care and improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes.

Aboriginal participatory action research (APAR) has an ethical focus that corrects the imbalances of colonisation through participation and shared decision-making to position people, place, and intention at the centre of research. APAR supports researchers to respond to the community's local rhythms and culture. APAR supports researchers to respond to the community's local rhythms and culture. First Nations scholars and their allies do this in a way that decolonises mainstream approaches in research to disrupt its cherished ideals and endeavours. How these knowledges are co-created and translated is also critically scrutinised. We are a team of intercultural researchers working with community and mainstream health service providers to improve service access, responsiveness, and Aboriginal client outcomes. Our article begins with an overview of the APAR literature and pays homage to the decolonising scholarship that champions Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing. We present a research program where Aboriginal Elders, as cultural guides, hold the research through storying and cultural experiences that have deepened relationships between services and the local Aboriginal community. We conclude with implications of a community-led engagement framework underpinned by a relational methodology that reflects the nuances of knowledge translation through a co-creation of new knowledge and knowledge exchange.

Alcohol is the leading cause of healthy years lost. There is significant variation in alcohol consumption patterns and harms in Australia, with those residing in the Northern Territory (NT), particularly First Nations Australians, experiencing higher alcohol-attributable harms than other Australians. Community leadership in the planning and implementation of health, including alcohol, policy is important to health outcomes for First Nations Australians. Self-determination, a cornerstone of the structural and social determinants of health, is necessary in the development of alcohol-related policy. However, there is a paucity of published literature regarding Indigenous Peoples self-determination in alcohol policy development. This study aims to identify the extent to which First Nations Australians experience self-determination in relation to current alcohol policy in Alice Springs/Mbantua (Northern Territory, Australia). Semi-structured qualitative yarns with First Nations Australian community members (n = 21) were undertaken. A framework of elements needed for self-determination in health and alcohol policy were applied to interview transcripts to assess the degree of self-determination in current alcohol policy in Alice Springs/Mbantua. Of the 36 elements, 33% were not mentioned in the interviews at all, 20% were mentioned as being present, and 75% were absent. This analysis identified issues of policy implementation, need for First Nations Australian leadership, and representation. Alcohol policy for First Nations Australians in the NT is nuanced and complicated. A conscious approach is needed to recognise and implement the right to self-determination, which must be led and defined by First Nations Australians. First Nations Australians' experiences of current alcohol policy in Central Australia: evidence of self-determination?

Background Recognition of the role of structural, cultural, political and social determinants of health is increasing. A key principle of each of these is self-determination, and according to the United Nations (2007), this is a right of Indigenous Peoples. For First Nations Australians, opportunities to exercise this right appear to be limited. This paper explores First Nations Australian communities’ responses to reducing alcohol-related harms and improving the health and well-being of their communities, with a focus on understanding perceptions and experiences of their self-determination. It is noted that while including First Nations Australians in policies is not in and of itself self-determination, recognition of this right in the processes of developing health and alcohol policies is a critical element. This study aims to identify expert opinion on what is needed for First Nations Australians’ self-determination in the development of health- and alcohol-related policy. Methods This study used the Delphi technique to translate an expert panel’s opinions into group consensus. Perspectives were sought from First Nations Australians ( n = 9) and non-Indigenous Peoples ( n = 11) with experience in developing, evaluating and/or advocating for alcohol interventions led by First Nations Australians. Using a web-based survey, this study employed three survey rounds to identify and then gain consensus regarding the elements required for First Nations Australians’ self-determination in policy development. Results Twenty panellists ( n = 9 First Nations Australian) participated in at least one of the three surveys. Following the qualitative round 1 survey, six main themes, 60 subthemes and six examples of policy were identified for ranking in round 2. In round 2, consensus was reached with 67% of elements ( n = 40/60). Elements that did not reach consensus were repeated in round 3, with additional elements ( n = 5). Overall, consensus was reached on two thirds of elements (66%, n = 43/65). Conclusions Self-determination is complex, with different meaning in each context. Despite some evidence of self-determination, systemic change in many areas is needed, including in government. This study has identified a starting point, with the identification of elements and structural changes necessary to facilitate First Nations Australian community-led policy development approaches, which are vital to ensuring self-determination.

Mainstream youth mental health services struggle to comprehend the connection between colonisation and service provision for Aboriginal young people. This is the consensus agreed by Aboriginal Elders from Perth, Western Australia and young Aboriginal leaders within their communities (Wright, Culbong, Crisp, Biedermann, & Lin (2019). 1-7). What is required is a more nuanced, culturally relevant approach to both an understanding of the impact of colonisation on mental health and help-seeking behaviour if they are to provide equitable access for Aboriginal young people. In this paper, we report on a three-year participatory action research (PAR) project conducted on Whadjuk Nyoongar country in Perth, Western Australia. An innovative model of care framework developed from the project and described in this paper, focuses on key components that both inform and assist service providers in improving service provision to Aboriginal young people. The model, depicted as a tree, symbolises strength and growth, with the 'roots' of the tree, holding trust, culture and spirit. This paper details a culturally-safe co-design process that was held and directed with Elders, in partnership with young people, youth mental health service staff and youth policy staff.

This paper describes the processes involved in establishing a genuinely collaborative and participatory role for nine Aboriginal Elders in a five-year participatory action research project focused on early child development in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. The project goals are to better inform and align policy and program design with Aboriginal values, world views and concepts of childhood. The Elder’s authority in the design, conduct and outputs of the research are intended to adhere to a decolonising approach, whereby Aboriginal people have power and voice in ways that are aligned to their values and beliefs. Requirements for research that is collaborative, relational, participatory and reflexive are not straightforward or easily achieved, and the process of working with the nine Elders in their roles as Co-researchers has not been without its challenges. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of working with Aboriginal Elders as Co-researchers and seeks to enhance understanding of the necessity of incorporating an Aboriginal worldview and knowledge framework in this way.

BACKGROUND:First Nations Australians have an internationally-recognised right to self-determination - a key social determinant of health. The recognition and application of this right varies within different regions and policy contexts but is currently unknown for First Nations Australians' engagement in alcohol policy development. This study seeks to: explore First Nations Australians' experiences of alcohol policy in Central Australia (Northern Territory); and identify how First Nations Australians' right to self-determination can be recognised and applied in the development of alcohol policy in Mbantua/Alice Springs.METHODS:Using a blended yarning and appreciative inquiry approach, 24 interviews were conducted. Interviews were thematically coded in multiple stages, using diagrammatic methods.RESULTS:Four key themes emerged: (i) experiences of purchasing alcohol; (ii)communication of the current alcohol policy; (iii) experiences of policy described by participants (and their community); and (iv) self-determination in alcohol policy.CONCLUSIONS:Current pathways for contributing to alcohol policy have been ineffective in achieving meaningful engagement with Australia's First Nations community members. This study provides some guidance as to how self-determination can more effectively be incorporated in the development of alcohol policy in the NT.

ZusammenfassungVon 2014 bis 2022 fördert das BMBF fünf Forschungsverbünde der Präventionsforschung und Gesundheitsförderung, die ebenfalls über eine gemeinsame Koordination verfügen (Forschungsnetzwerk Primärprävention und Gesundheitsförderung, www.fp2g.net). Die Forschenden haben eine Vielzahl relevanter Forschungsergebnisse erarbeitet und Erkenntnisse über wesentliche Aspekte der Präventionsforschung und Gesundheitsförderung gewonnen. Die Forschung der Verbünde konzentrierte sich auf Grundlagen, anwendungsrelevante Erkenntnisse und Umsetzungsbedingungen einer langfristig angelegten Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung für nicht-übertragbare Erkrankungen (NCD). Den Einschränkungen durch die Pandemie ab 2020 konnte z.T. durch Integration von Corona-bezogenen Forschungs- und Transferaktivitäten begegnet werden. Die Bedeutung von Resilienz für den Umgang mit den vielfältigen gesundheitlichen und sozialen Herausforderungen wird in Zeiten der Pandemie verstärkt analysiert und diskutiert. Für die Präventionsforschung gewinnen Forschungsfragen etwa zur besseren Implementierung von Präventionsmaßnahmen durch digitale Werkzeuge zusätzliche Bedeutung. Gemeinsam stellen die Verbünde Erreichtes und Desiderate zukünftiger Forschung dar. Dieses Perspektivpapier mit den abschließend formulierten neun Thesen ist für eine erfolgreiche Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung als Diskussionsanregung für Förderer wie auch für die Gemeinschaft der Forschenden gedacht. Es stellt sich explizit in die Kontinuität der schon im Jahr 2012 erarbeiteten Memoranden zur Präventionsforschung.

INTRODUCTION:Being culturally secure, respectful and responsive can mean occupational therapists can contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. New culturally responsive accreditation and competency standards provide an opportunity to decolonise the profession to enhance the cultural capabilities of graduates. The purpose of this study was to explore how well-prepared Australian occupational therapy courses are to implement the new standards.METHODS:The principles of participatory action research were applied. An initial survey with occupational therapy academic staff was used to inform questions for semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 occupational therapy academics and occupational therapy accreditors. Interview data were thematically analysed.FINDINGS:The four themes identified from the interviews were: occupational therapy profession drivers, effective leadership, community and Elder involvement, and course design and delivery.CONCLUSION:The new accreditation and competency standards are a promising step forward for the profession. However, the profession needs to be better prepared to decolonise Australian occupational therapy. A positive and culturally secure way forward is to engage Elders and other community members in learning experiences to build student, academic and practicing occupational therapist's cultural capability. Non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership at all levels of the profession and within universities is crucial to establishing trusting, reciprocal relationships to support deep knowledge exchange. These relationships lay the foundation to build cultural capabilities and decolonise processes in the profession.