Our games our health: a cultural asset for promoting health in Indigenous communities
Elizabeth Parker, Beryl Meiklejohn, Carla Patterson, Ken Edwards, Cilla Preece, Patricia Shuter and Trish Gould

Abstract

Issue addressed:
Indigenous Australians have higher morbidity and mortality rates than non-Indigenous Australians. Until recently, few health promotion interventions have had more than limited success in Indigenous populations.

Methods:
This community-based health promotion initiative introduced traditional Indigenous games into schools and community groups in Cherbourg and Stradbroke Island (Queensland, Australia). A joint community forum managed the project, and the Indigenous community-based project officers co-ordinated training in traditional games and undertook community asset audits and evaluations.

Results:
The games have been included in the activities of a range of community organisations in Cherbourg and Stradbroke Island. Several other organisations and communities in Australia have included them in their projects. A games video and manual were produced to facilitate the initiative's transferability and sustainability.

Conclusion:
Conventional approaches to health promotion generally focus on individual risk factors and often ignore a more holistic perspective. This project adopted a culturally appropriate, holistic approach, embracing a paradigm that concentrated on the communities' cultural assets and contributed to sustainable and transferable outcomes. There is a need for appropriate evaluation tools for time-limited community engagement projects.

Key words:
Community capacity building, health promotion, Indigenous health, traditional games.

Health Promotion Journal of Australia 2006;17:103-8