Dead or Deadly report : Waminda Aboriginal Women's Health Service

Executive summary This report discusses the health and wellbeing issues experienced by Indigenous women living in the Shoalhaven region and examines the Dead or Deadly program made available to local Indigenous women by the Waminda South Coast Women’s Health and Welfare Aboriginal Corporation. The evidence presented in this report is drawn from the findings of a needs assessment conducted as part of the Shoalhaven Koori Women Study (SKWS) and from other research relevant to Dead or Deadly. The SKWS is a long-term study designed within a critical Indigenist framework. The first component of the SKWS involved semi-structured interviews with 30 Indigenous women living in Shoalhaven. The responses of interest for this report are those that relate to Indigenous women’s wellness and wellbeing, the Dead or Deadly program and the ways Indigenous women access Waminda’s health services. This report identifies that Dead or Deadly is a holistic health promotion initiative, designed by and for local Indigenous women. It has delivered a number of outcomes for its clients, including healthy lifestyle changes, strengthening of community, building support networks, profiling Indigenous voices, and social and emotional wellbeing support and improvements. The holistic, relationship-based model of Dead or Deadly enables it to address numerous health and related life issues, while creating pathways to and opportunities for Waminda’s other health and clinical services to support these clients. The research reveals that the Deadly or Deadly program enables Waminda to deliver health services according to a social model of health. Dead or Deadly leads to measurable, positive changes in Waminda’s clients’ health and wellbeing, including physical health and related factors such as employment, self-esteem, family, education and strengthening cultural identity and connection. These results are promising in light of calls to ‘close the gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes. Despite its successes, the Dead or Deadly program has repeatedly risked closure due to lack of funding. At the time of completing this report, funding has been made available for a further three years. The authors of this report recommend that state and federal governments must work together to secure the financial sustainability of the Dead or Deadly program to secure its the long-term viability.