Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

Development of evidence-based key principles and best practice approaches to co-design with First Nations peoples applicable to the cancer context in Australia (#247)

Kate Anderson 1 , Tamara Butler 1 , Alana Gall 1 , Gail Garvey 1 , Debra Hector 2 , Scott Turnbull 2 , Kerri Lucas 2 , Caroline Nehill 2 , Anna Boltong 2 , Dorothy Keefe 2
  1. School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Herston, QLD
  2. Cancer Australia, Sydney, NSW

Aims

Australia’s social, structural, and political context, together with the continuing impact of colonisation, perpetuates health care and outcome gaps for First Nations peoples, including in cancer. A new approach is required to overcome these disparities, led by First Nations peoples. Co-design is emerging as a valued method for First Nations communities to drive change in health policy and practice to better meet their needs and priorities. However, it is critical that a co-design processes and outcomes are culturally safe and effective. This project aimed to develop a set of evidence-based key principles and best practice approaches to co-design with First Nations peoples applicable to the Australian cancer context.

Methods

A First Nations co-led team conducted a two-phase project. In Phase 1, a systematic search was conducted to identify peer-reviewed and grey literature reporting elements of co-design by and with First Nations peoples. Thematic analysis was conducted on key findings from the papers to elicit key principles and best practice approaches to co-design. In Phase 2, Online Yarning Circles with key stakeholders were utilised to refine Phase 1 findings.

Results

Phase 1: After full-text screening, 99 studies were included. Thematic analysis elicited six key principles and 30 best-practice approaches relevant to co-designing with First Nations peoples. Phase 2: These outcomes were refined and consolidated by 25 stakeholders in Online Yarning Circles. A final set of six key principles were identified: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership; Culturally grounded approach; Respect; Benefit to community; Inclusive partnerships; and Transparency and evaluation. Thirty-seven best practice approaches were also identified, which provide guidance for embedding the principles into practice.

Conclusion

This set of principles and approaches offers a constructive foundation to commence a process of co-design with First Nations peoples to be integrated into a toolkit for application across cancer policy and research design.