Table 2 Data extracted from included publications

Begley et al. [12]

Brisbane South Division of General Practice, Queensland

To provide information on health to local Aboriginal community

General practitioners (non-Indigenous) in the area that had expressed interest (N=8).

Cultural awareness and communication training were provided, and GPs were supplied an Indigenous health resource manual

Inala elders, were involved in selecting topics of interest and reviewing GP training resources

GPs delivered group education sessions in a community setting in their lunch breaks.

Yarning was used to improve access to quality health information

Local Aboriginal community members including elders, young women’s groups and parent groups.

General topic areas: common cold, immunisation, women’s health, chronic disease management, and child health.

Self-Report

A qualitative and quantitative evaluation is conducted after each topic cycle

Knowledge (100% of participants reported “they learnt something”).

Satisfaction and understanding (85% reporting ease of understanding based on yarning format).

GP’s reported improved understanding of Indigenous community, communication, holistic health and importance of family.

This intervention was reported as an ongoing initiative and improved knowledge and programme satisfaction

Fletcher et al. [13]

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. (VACCHO)

To develop an inclusive policy around smoking habits for workers in the VACCHO.

The Project Officer who conducted yarns was an Aboriginal staff member of VACCHO.

Details re-training were not reported

Aboriginal staff were involved in this participatory action research at both the development and implementation stages.

The intervention was conducted in phases. These included drop-in sessions for all VACCO workers, informal yarns in corridors and meeting places where smoking was common, and yarning sessions with managers after policy development.

All VACCHO staff members were involved in order to start conversations about smoking and produce a smoking policy for VACCHO

Smoking

Personal views around smoking habits and smoking consequence were qualitatively gathered during yarning sessions. A participatory action research framework was used to develop policy.

This programme resulted in policy development that banned smoking within all VACCHO buildings and vehicles, and within 3 m of air vents or within 3 m of all entrances and exits of the buildings.

Many staff also reported wanting to give up smoking and support was imbedded into policy.

The intervention described resulted in a new policy, rather than having a focus on individual outcomes. Indirect impact on health however was reported.

Dimer et al. [14]

Metropolitan Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) in Western Australia

To improve cardiovascular health

Staff at the AMS provided the intervention (not stated if Indigenous)

Details of training were not reported

Focus groups with Aboriginal health professionals and community members were conducted prior to programme implementation to ensure it would meet community needs and expectations.

Yarning was used to deliver education about cardiovascular disease including diet, exercise, medications, risk factors. This was provided alongside an exercise-based intervention. The clinic was run each Thursday from 9am-1pm, and participants could come at any time within this timeframe with a flexible approach to attendance rather than an appointment-based system.

Aboriginal people were referred by a medical practitioner or self-referred based on high cardiovascular risk. 64% of participants were female.

Cardiovascular health

Mixed methods were employed to evaluate the outcomes of the programme. These included interviews, questionnaires and yarning sessions as well as objective assessment of cardiovascular risk factors. Changes in risk factors were evaluated pre- and post-programme using paired t tests. P < 0.05 was accepted for statistical significance

Twenty-eight participants who attended at least 8 weeks of sessions achieved a significant decrease in BMI, waist girth, blood pressure, and an increase in 6-min walking distance.

Qualitative consultation revealed strong support for the programme.

The flexibility of the intervention offered was perceived as more culturally appropriate. Participation increased during the study period.

The yarning outcomes of improvements in physiological health parameters cannot be separated from the exercise effect.

Crouch [15]

The Loddon Mallee rural region of Victoria

To develop and test a community-led resource to support and empower parents to improve health behaviours

The interviewer was a female full-time Malle District Aboriginal Service (MDAS) clinician of Anglo-Saxon heritage

Details of training were not reported.

Permission was sought by local elders to conduct the participatory action research study.

21 Aboriginal individuals, families, Elders, professionals and various community members were invited to share their experiences of positive parenting, childhood memories and what children can teach carers.

Yarning was used to create an antenatal yarning resource that was written from the perspective of a baby in the womb.

This resource was then used with small groups to see how they responded to the tool.

Community members (men, woman and Elders) were involved in the first yarning stages to create the resource. The tool being developed was targeted at Pregnant Aboriginal women.

Antenatal health

Qualitative yarning interviews to create a resource using a participatory action research framework.

The outcomes of the research were the development of a resource for pregnant women to improve their health and the health of their unborn children.

The intervention described resulted in a new resource for pregnant females and their families, rather than have a focus on individual’s outcomes. Indirect impact on health was reported.

Campbell et al. [16]

Nine remote Cape York communities, Queensland

To evaluate the implementation of the Baby One Program (BOP), an Australian family-centred programme for improving child health.

Indigenous health workers from the Apunipma Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation.

Details of training were not reported

Not stated

BOP includes 15 visits from health-workers throughout pregnancy and up until the time the child is 2 years and 10months. 7 Baby baskets are delivered with contents of the baskets containing resources for mother and baby. The health worker also has a yarn with the family at each visit with a range of health promotion topics to cover.

A programme that started at confirmation of pregnancy and lasted until the baby was 2 years, yarning was used as an information delivery tool

Pregnant women from the time they know they’re pregnant until the baby is 2 years and 10 months

Child health and development

Qualitative evaluation through yarning with staff and families in the community.

The programme was perceived to be useful and necessary by both health workers and family members. Yarning was seen to be beneficial in exchanging information; Information was easier for the mothers to understand, the programme promoted good health through behaviours such as quitting smoking and reducing consumption of alcohol. Health workers reported a reduced risk of families engaging with the Department of Child Safety because of the support provided by the BOP

This study focuses mainly on the implementation of the service rather than health outcomes for children. Improved knowledge was perceived.