In 2022, HCNSW & AWCH partnered together to create the Walking the Talk project. The goal of Walking the Talk was to improve youth engagement within our two organisations as well as the wider healthcare sector, including systems, services, and healthcare-related organisations. Using the findings from the three workshops, as well as feedback gained throughout the project process, we developed a Final Report and a new Youth Engagement Guide. 

One of the key pieces of feedback we received after the project was the desire to see a similar project specifically with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. From here we developed the idea for ‘Collaborate & Connect: Designing Health Engagement with First Nations Young People’.

Both data and people’s stories tell us that there is a significant need to improve both the health experiences and health outcomes for First Nations young people, particularly when using non-Indigenous services/organisations. With many First Nations young people using non-Indigenous or ‘mainstream’ services, for a variety of reasons, there is a distinct need to ensure that these services are effectively involving First Nations young people from the initial stages of planning and design through to delivery and evaluation.

To begin building a foundation of information, we developed a Scoping Report to look at all available current data on:

• First Nations young people’s health outcomes
• Service access and usage
• Disparities in outcomes between
• First Nations services and non-Indigenous services
• Any existing resources on engagement with First Nations young people as a specific demographic

From here, we identified Key Considerations for the Collaborate & Connect project and Key Gaps in Existing Data & Resources.

Key Considerations

• Beyond ‘cultural competence’ – towards Decolonisation
• Social & historical context
• Genuine & meaningful engagement
• Honouring intersectional lived experience
• Feedback loops & information provision
• Continuous work & learning

Gaps in Existing Data & Resources

• Lack of Policy
• Out-of-Date Data
• Lack of Data Continuity
• Gaps in Engagement Resources

Read more about the Considerations & Gaps on pages 25-29 of the Scoping Report, here. These findings were then used to inform our approach to engagement as well as the content and questions we chose to include in the Workshops.

We partnered with YLab to help design and facilitate the project workshops. YLab is a co-design and consulting social enterprise that brings together young people with diverse lived experiences and partners to design solutions to complex problems. Ylab offers various services, including First Nations Co-Design and Youth Engagement. Their First Nations practice emboldens young Mob to be agents for change in creating new self-determined solutions and embed First Nations thinking across YLab’s and their clients work Together, we designed one face-to-face Workshop and one follow-up online Workshop to be run with a small group of First Nations young people. 

Workshop 1

The approach for this project was designed to create opportunities for young First Nations people to come together to yarn, share and work in collaboration to understand how they want to be engaged with by health organisations. We did this by facilitating a full day workshop in person held in Redfern bringing together 7 young First Nations people from across the City of Sydney.

We designed prompting questions that allowed us to understand the nuances of young First Nations people’s experiences of being excluded in design, how young First Nations people want to be engaged and what expectations they have from service providers and advocacy organisations in the health sector.

Workshop 2
From here, we consolidated the insights and developed a draft Model for Engagement to test in the second Workshop. This allowed for further discussion, reiteration of ideas, and further recommendations for the final model.

Based on collaborators’ ideas and feedback on the draft model, the final Collaborate & Connect Toolbox, including a Model for Engagement, was developed.

The final report, ‘Collaborate & Connect: Co-Creating Foundations for Engagement between Non-Indigenous Organisations & First Nations Young People’ presents the project findings, offers insights into our approach to engagement, and outlines the next steps for HCNSW & AWCH. 

Section 1: Our Approach

Outlines the ideas and approach that we employed throughout the project, and the feedback we received. The purpose of this section is to identify and exhibit the specific, practical actions that led to a successful workshop and rapport with
the young people involved.

Section 2 : Workshop Findings

Outlines the findings from the Workshops, including:

• Current barriers to engagement with non-Indigenous organisations
• Ideas for improving approaches to design, and design processes
• Ideas for improving young people’s access to engagement
• Current gaps in practice of non-Indigenous organisations
• Ideas for how a new resource could address the issues identified

Section 3: Next Steps

Outlines the next steps for HCNSW & AWCH, based on the ideas generated by the collaborators, and their feedback on the Collaborate & Connect project itself. The Next Steps are:

• Development of the Collaborate & Connect Handbook & Model, and continuous curation and expansion to ensure information and resources are up-to-date and reflect relevant issues
• Statement of Commitment to working alongside First Nations young people Connecting through the ‘Collaborate & Connect Network’
• Commitment to Reconciliation with a Reconciliation Action Plan
• Ongoing Advocacy with First Nations young people’s voices at centre

The Collaborate & Connect project is a collaboration between Health Consumers NSW (HCNSW), the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH), and First Nations young people.

Health Consumers NSW (HCNSW) is the independent member-based, peak health consumer body in NSW. HCNSW promotes and practices health consumer engagement by linking consumers, carers and family members with health services, education, and research institutions in NSW.

The Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH) is a national not-for-profit organisation which advocates for the needs of children, young people and their families within the healthcare system in Australia. AWCH works in partnership with: children, young people, and their families, health professionals and beyond to ensure that the psychosocial needs of children, young people and their families are recognised and met.