First published 17 October 2024
QUT’s Carumba Institute and Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CHQHHS) have been awarded an NHMRC Medical Research Futures Fund Indigenous Health grant of $994,963.50 to develop an anti-racist educational intervention in children’s health and hospital services.
The team will be led by QUT’s Carumba Institute Executive Director Professor Chelsea Watego and brings together researchers from QUT, The University of Queensland, and CHQHHS to develop, implement and evaluate an Indigenous anti-racist educational intervention for health staff as “the principal means to give effect to the CHQHHS’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Equity Strategy of ‘actively eliminating racial discrimination and institutional racism’,” Professor Watego said.
“The training emphasizes race as a key feature of the social world in shaping various differential outcomes in the delivery of health services.
“Previous approaches have treated racism as a matter of attitude and interpersonal experience.
“This project’s intellectual engagement with critical race theory concepts together with an emphasis on the structural impact of race will differentiate it from past initiatives.
“The training seeks Indigenous arbitration of content quality and brings together understandings of Indigeneity and race to achieve organisational transformation where anti-racism is regarded as a core value that actively guides the development of children’s health policy and delivery of services.
“This research partnership reflects QUT’s commitment to Indigenous Australian research which emphasises Indigenous-led research, establishing meaningful research partnerships with Indigenous Australian communities and delivering real world change”.
Children’s Health Queensland Executive Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Angela Young said CHQ was thrilled to partner with the Carumba Institute.
“This education will transform our organisation’s understanding of the impact of race and racism on the delivery of healthcare,” Ms Young said.
“We have made significant advances towards transforming our services with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people but we know that without addressing racism structurally further progress is unlikely.”
The research team comprises Professor Watego, Dr David Singh and Kevin Yow Yeh from QUT; Professor Amanda Ullman (The University of Queensland); Angela Young, Naomi Hebson and Daniel Tapau (Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service).
(Image, from left: Dr David Singh, Professor Watego, Kevin Yow Yeh).
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