Jenine Godwin, University of Queensland

The impact of housing on health in remote Indigenous communities and the implications for indigenous housing policy and practice.

My PhD will explore issues associated with provision of appropriate and good quality housing in Indigenous communities in North West Queensland. In the past there has been insufficient and ineffective consultation, unproductive policy development and poor evaluation processes relating to indigenous housing. My thesis is concerned with developing approaches to the implementation of appropriate housing programs, within a holistic perspective, that adapt to and provide long term, quality, secure, affordable and culturally appropriate housing. My research will acknowledge the Indigenous concept of health, and that Indigenous people experience varying and complex social and economic factors that continuously impact on their livelihood. The Indigenous approach to health is multi-dimensional and embraces all aspects of life and living - ‘knowing and doing’. It is a holistic perspective underpinned by a sense of community that forms a sense of identity. Hence, it is important to have well-balanced planning of social and emotional well-being services, which in turn, supports the Indigenous community.

Appropriate housing strategies need to take account of both service issues and community participation, overarched by community ownership, and the complex inter-relationships involved in building Indigenous capacity, and the issues involved in ‘proactive grassroots’ research. Models of housing provision and delivery need to take account of policy and governance issues at local, state and national levels of government, consequently, encouraging self-determination for the overall improvement of livelihoods in Indigenous communities.

The proposed study will involve in-depth fieldwork in several Indigenous communities in North West Queensland that will involve systematic description of the housing stock, interviews with housing providers and consumers, and study of local governance issues. The study will also involve an examination of Indigenous housing policies and their impact on local housing outcomes.

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