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The research has shown that the health of Indigenous Australians is at significantly lower levels than that of non-Indigenous Australians. This is particularly evident in the area of maternal, newborn and child health care. Australia is a multi-cultural society and it is now imperative that health professionals can recognise different cultures and provide safe cultural health care. This course will provide students with the opportunity to study culture, especially Indigenous culture. Examining the history, health, wellness and culture will provide the student with the background to examine their own beliefs and values as well as issues related to midwifery practice.

This course aims to provide the student with the knowledge and skills to be able to identify and explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people history, identity, health, wellness and culture. Students will be able to identify inequalities in in the health status of individuals and their families. They will gain an understanding of the maternity care needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their families and to ensure that midwifery care is culturally safe. They will learn about, and respect, customary law. They will further develop their knowledge and skills to work with people from cultures other than their own. The principles of Primary Health Care will be included in the strategies for care to enable women and their families to have access to affordable, equitable and appropriate midwifery care. Intercultural interactions are examined and strategies discussed for positive relationships to be developed.

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Examine the concept of culture and discuss how values and belief constructs of a particular group of people guide their thinking, decision making and actions in their health care with special emphasis on midwifery care
2. Critically analyse the cultural and historical contexts of health and care concepts in relation to their own personal and professional identity as a midwife
3. Explain the links between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, history and health
4. Apply the principles, philosophy and strategies of Primary Health Care to provide midwifery care within Aboriginal controlled health services
5. Examine the role of the Aboriginal mother’s kinship ties, the role of the Aboriginal grandmother, the importance of birthing on the land and the importance of passing on traditional values and customs
6. Demonstrate the ablity to provide, safe and culturally appropriate care to a woman of any cultural background
7. Develop a framework for practice that encapsulates the personal, professional and structural elements of cultural safety and demonstrate this in midwifery practice.