Researchers: Clint Bussey, Dr Darlene McNaughton, Dr Sue Booth (Flinders University)
Funding:
Project summary: Leading health organisations have recently described food security as the missing link in closing the gap between Indigenous health and the health of non-Indigenous Australians.
The project is the first of its kind in Australia and aims to investigate factors which promote as well as impede food security in Gooniyandi communities throughout the Fitzroy Valley region of the Kimberley. This study will include semi-structured qualitative interviews and ‘participant observation’ to explore how behaviours and lived practices influence household food security.
The project is strongly supported by community members, chair people and health organisations including Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services, Prescribed Body Corporate (Gooniyandi) and the Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre.
This project draws on ethnographic methodology to identify factors that facilitate or impede the diet quality of Aboriginal people living in remote communities and how these factors influence the four pillars of food security as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organisation. The four pillars are:
Food access
Food availability
Food use and
Food stability
Information about the dietary intakes and behaviours involving Aboriginal people is either dated, limited in depth or resourced from the community store. Many generalisations and assumptions continue to be made about the diets of Aboriginal people and there is little focus on exploring significant factors that determine diet quality from the perspective of Aboriginal people. It remains increasingly important that Aboriginal people’s knowledge, values and concerns about food and their diet are taken into account when determining the level of food security in their community.
The information and project findings will assist in developing a broader understanding into the complex nature of food security issues in remote Aboriginal communities. Improving food security will benefit the health of a significant proportion of Aboriginal people that live in remote communities.
Progress: Ongoing