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Winunga prison health study

Reach:
ACT
Focus area:
Indigenous
Status:
Completed
Evaluated:
No

Overview

The Winunga prison health study aimed to develop a best practice model for the delivery of a holistic health care service to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inmates of the Alexander Maconochie Correctional Centre (in the Australian Capital Territory) and to their families. The Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service (WNAHS) wanted to have this model implemented in the ACT to better inform health care practices for Indigenous inmates, their families, and Indigenous health service providers in the wider custodial environment throughout Australia.

There were five recommendations from the study:

incorporate the Winnunga holistic health care for prison model (WHHCPM) into the ACT Health prison services delivered at the Alexander Maconochie Centre
establish a prisoner health communication network between Winnunga and other Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organisations
establish a monitoring and evaluation program for the implementation of the WHHCPM (assessing process, impact, and outcomes of the model)
transfer this new knowledge and understanding by the Lowitja Insitute (formerly the Cooperative Research Center for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH)) to the health and justice systems in other jurisdictions throughout Australia
undertake further studies to help overcome the current lack of an evidence base for Aboriginal prison-related issues in the ACT and Australia.

This project was initiated in response to the construction of the ACT's first prison, the Alexander Maconochie Correctional Centre, which was due for completion and to receive its first inmates in 2008. Through its work with Indigenous inmates at Goulburn and Cooma prisons in New South Wales, and the Belconnen Remand Centre and Quamby Youth Detention Centre in the ACT, WNAHS recognised the ACT prison opening as an opportunity to improve the appropriateness and effectiveness of health care delivery to Indigenous inmates of custodial institutions.

This project involved the following organisations:

WNAHS (lead agency)
Muuji Regional Centre for Social and Emotional Wellbeing (MRCSEWB)
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
National Centre for Indigenous Studies at the Australian National University
Healthpact Research Centre for Health Promotion and Wellbeing at the University of Canberra
The Connection ACT (a community peer support group for Indigenous users and ex-users of drugs)
CRCAH
ACT Health Healthpact (provided funding).

Abstract adapted from Lowitja Institute

Contacts

Nerelle Poroch
Ph: 02 6284 6237
Fax: 02 6284 6223
Email: Nerelle.Poroch@winnunga.org.au

Related publications

Tongs J, Chatfield H, Arabena K (2007)

The Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service holistic health care for prison model.

Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal; 31(6): 6-8

Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service (2007)

You do the crime you do the time: best practice model of holistic health service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inmates of the ACT Prison.

Narrabundah, ACT: Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service

This report details the findings from the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service study into a best practice model of holistic health service delivery for Aboriginal inmates at the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Alexander Maconochie Centre. This report outlines a number of recommendations that resulted from the study, including:

incorporating this holistic health care model into the ACT Health prison services delivered at the Alexander Maconochie Centre
establishing a prisoner health communication network between Winnunga and other Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organisations
establishing a monitoring and evaluation program for the implementation of the Winnunga Holistic Health Care Prison Model at the Alexander Maconochie Centre assessing process, impact and outcomes of the Model
that the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH) transfer this new knowledge and understanding to the health and justice systems in other jurisdictions throughout Australia
that further studies be undertaken to help overcome the current lack of an evidence base for Aboriginal prison-related issues in the ACT and Australia.

Abstract adapted from the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service

Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service (2007)

You do the crime you do the time: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences of prison life and afterwards.

Narrabundah, ACT: Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service

Poroch N, Tongs J, Longford E, Keed S (2012)

Aboriginal health workers at Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service caring for the needs of Aboriginal people in the new ACT prison and the needs of their families.

Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal; 36(1): 6-8, 17

Poroch N, Boyd K, Tongs J, Sharp P, Longford E, Keed S (2011)

We're struggling in here! : the phase 2 study into the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT Alexander Maconochie Centre and the needs of their families.

Narrabundah, A.C.T: Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service

Links

Last updated: 5 November 2012

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