Medical Yarn Ups (MYUs): Decolonising Health Care Delivery

About

Waminda (NSW South Coast Women’s Health and Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation) and Associate Professor John Stevens have been pioneering a process called Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) to address lifestyle-related illnesses in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. SMAs, also known as Group Consultations or Medical Yarn Ups (MYUs), represent an innovative and culturally safe Model of Care designed to promote self-determination and improve health outcomes. 

The Diabetes Remission for Aboriginal Women (DRAW) program showed a 30% diabetes remission for the participating Aboriginal women in the groundbreaking trial. The eight-week lifestyle program provided a weekly SMA, where the clinician, in this case a general practitioner, sits in a yarning circle with other allied health professionals and the participants, eliminating power imbalances experienced by Aboriginal women previously in health care settings. 

“These women were empowered to make decisions about what was going to happen, which led to high engagement in the program and remarkable success.”
- Associate Professor John Stevens.

Project info: Continuous Glucose Monitors and Programmed Shared Medical Appointments in Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Among First Nation Women in Australia: A Co-Designed Feasibility Study. John Stevens (SCU), Willow Firth (Waminda), Lynne Dooley (Waminda), Hayley Longbottom (Waminda), Kalinda Wills (Waminda), Garry Egger (SCU), and Bob Morgan (University of Newcastle).

Presenters:

Kalinda Wills is a proud Jerrinja-Wandi-Wandian-Wodi-Wodi Woman from the Cullunghutti Mountain who grew up on the Jerrinja Aboriginal Community. Kalinda has been employed with Waminda's South Coast Women's Health and Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation as a full-time 2018 Senior Aboriginal Primary Health Care Practitioner and Practice Manager. Kalinda has passion and dedication for all aspects of Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing and prides herself on providing culturally safe, strength-based, holistic health care to her people's physical, emotional, social, spiritual health and wellness within local Aboriginal communities.

Willow Firth has worked at Waminda for 15 years as a CDE, EP and Dead or Deadly Program coordinator. Willow is a Non-Indigenous Ally committed to walking alongside First Nations people towards improving health outcomes by decolonising health service delivery. Willow is currently doing a Master's via research in the field of diabetes. 

Registration

In-person: Please note our presenters are joining us online from NSW. We will be screening the presentation from the NI Savanna Room, please RSVP here to watch in person—limited seating (30 ppl). 
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Online: Once you register, you will receive an individual link from Zoom no-reply@zoom.us
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Getting there

Savanna Room @ Northern Institute
CDU Casuarina Campus
Yellow Building 1, Level 2, Room 48

Google Maps location or How to get to Savanna Room.

^{Access: If you have any additional access or support requirements, please contact us. The Savanna Room is accessible using a lift or one flight of stairs through an automatic door. There is a wheelchair-accessible bathroom on Level 2 and a baby change room on Level 1 (ground floor).}