Art, Culture and Care: A Journey Towards Decolonised Healthcare

cohealth’s Health Promotion staff designed and delivered Offset, a series of workshops that used creative art processes to build the capacity of staff allies. The workshops aimed to reduce the colonial load placed on First Nations staff and address the ongoing impacts of colonisation in healthcare.

Across health settings, there are many barriers to First Nations people accessing health services, including fear and lack of trust in mainstream health services, heavily shaped by the effect of colonisation. First Nations people make up only 1.6% of the health workforce, this underrepresentation compounds health disparities and places pressure on First Nations health professionals .

The cohealth Health Promotion team sought to unpack how ally staff can play a role in supporting First Nations staff and address these ongoing impacts of colonisation. To do this, ‘Offset’, a workshop series, was offered to staff across cohealth. Over three workshops, staff explored what active allyship looks like by sharing knowledge, experiences and barriers. The group unpacked how non-Indigenous staff can better carry colonial load often placed on First Nations colleagues. In the final workshop, the group created art in response to the workshop themes.

One participant commented: “I have a clearer understanding of how I can use my position to support First Nations co-workers and consumers. I understand my responsibilities and how I can take the pressure off and unfair burden that is usually placed on First Nations staff.”

The art was shared across cohealth to increase knowledge of decolonisation and active allyship. Health services can build non-Indigenous staff capability in active allyship through initiatives like ‘Offset’ which support systemic change towards decolonising.

For further information on Offset, please contact cohealth Health Promotion at HealthPromotion@cohealth.org.au.