It is generally accepted within Aboriginal communities that Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) are best placed to understand, design and deliver services that respond to the needs of their communities. However, there is limited information on what evidence exists about the characteristics, implementation, and impact of Aboriginal-led programs designed to improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal families and communities.
This review was commissioned to provide an insight into the evidence for Aboriginal-led early support programs and services to improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal children, young people, and families, using culturally appraised evidence. The review involved an electronic database search, grey literature search and outreach to communities and experts for any other unpublished literature regarding community services and programs.
An Aboriginal-led Project Reference Group was established to determine the scope and research question for the review, as well as determine screening criteria for inclusion and exclusion. After these inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, a full text analysis was performed on the included resources and a Cultural Lens Matrix was applied to appraise its cultural credibility in terms of quality, potential for impact and generalisability. Finally, thematic analysis was undertaken to synthesise common threads, ideas, and insights in the evidence about Aboriginal-led early support programs for Aboriginal children, young people, families, and communities. The thematic analysis identified the following program features: