Deepening connections: Cultural storytelling at the heart of respectful and safe care for Aboriginal people in residential care

In this innovative digital technology project, Aboriginal Elders from Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia developed five 16-20-minute audio podcasts, complemented by three 8-10-minute videos (vodcasts). 

The podcasts addressed foundational concepts for culturally safe care: Connection to Country, Cultural Safety in Aged and Dementia Care (Parts 1 and 2), Traditional Healing and Bush Foods; and End-of-Life Care/Entering the Dreaming. Elders yarned with each other for the podcast content. 

A professional and trusted Media Specialist filmed them. Transcripts were developed and edited to form the podcasts. Elders reviewed and approved each stage of the work. The vodcasts provided context for the podcasts: a Spirit Walk with two Elders yarning as they walked alongside the Murray River; a tour of Booroongen Djugun, an Aboriginal Community-Controlled residential aged care community in Kempsey, NSW, hosted by Kylie O’Bryan, the CEO; and a tour of Durri Aboriginal Medical Services in Kempsey, NSW. The podcasts and vodcasts were shared with staff at Emmerton Park, a mainstream residential aged care community in rural Tasmania. 

Staff who listened to the podcasts and watched the vodcasts found them easy to access and illuminating, particularly regarding end-of-life care. Most staff accessed the podcasts at work.

Elder-led podcasts can be a valuable strategy to contribute to staff education and understanding of culturally safe care for Aboriginal people. Establishing specific times for staff to listen, watch, and discuss the information, ideally with Elders present, is important.

We are developing further podcasts, including one on mindfulness, and others featuring Elders from the United States and Canada, with complementary vodcasts. We have been invited by Dementia Australia to discuss the podcasts and vodcasts at a national webinar in August. We are working on establishing an Elder-in-Residence program at Emmerton Park and partnering with staff at Booroongen Djugun to ensure the care at Emmerton Park is culturally safe for Aboriginal people who live there. We continue to apply for grants to build on this cultural storytelling work.