An exploratory study of culture in treatment for Aboriginal Australian men in residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services

Exploring the lived experiences of Indigenous Australians within the context of alcohol and other drugs treatment services: A scoping review

ISSUES

Substance use among Indigenous peoples has been extensively researched in the Australian context. However, syntheses of existing research focused on Indigenous Australian peoples' experiences of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment are limited. This review sought to fill this gap.

APPROACH

A scoping review using three databases, and the Google search engine, examined empirical and grey literature relating to Indigenous Australian peoples' lived experiences of accessing and undergoing AOD treatment. The review was not restricted to intervention type, treatment setting, substance, or individual characteristics (e.g., age or gender). The experiences of staff of Indigenous Australian service providers were excluded.

KEY FINDINGS

Twenty-seven articles were reviewed, with most research (n = 12) conducted in New South Wales. Our secondary analysis of existing research found three themes: the role of culture, the value of holistic strength-based services, and the influence of organisational components for Indigenous Australian service users in AOD treatment settings.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Despite diversity of experiences, our review highlights the importance of integrating culture and facilitating holistic strength-based approaches to AOD treatment for Indigenous Australian peoples. While our review is limited by the findings and biases contained within the literature reviewed, the paucity of literature relating to the experiences of Indigenous Australian peoples within AOD treatment settings warrants further attention.

Evaluating an Aboriginal community controlled residential alcohol and other drug services: Use of benchmarking to examine within treatment changes in wellbeing

INTRODUCTION

Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCO) have an important role in the Australian health-care sector. However, there has been a lack of research evaluating ACCOs in the treatment of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. Using a benchmarking approach, the present study examined within treatment changes on measures of wellbeing for people attending a residential AOD ACCO.

METHODS

The study focused on The Glen, an AOD residential treatment service that is managed by the Ngaimpe Aboriginal Corporation (n = 775). The Glen is a male-only service and provides treatment to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous men. The evaluation focused on measures of wellbeing (i.e. symptom distress and quality of life) collected at intake, 30 and 60 days during the person's stay. Comparative benchmarking was conducted with a cohort of men who were attending non-ACCO residential AOD treatment services (n = 4457).

RESULTS

The Glen participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements on measures of wellbeing. The Glen participants were more likely to complete treatment than participants attending non-ACCO services. Likewise, Indigenous people attending The Glen were more likely to complete treatment (compared to Indigenous people attending non-ACCO services). Rates of reliable and clinically significant change suggested that changes in quality of life were largely equivalent between The Glen and non-ACCO services, while participants attending The Glen tended to demonstrate larger reductions in symptom distress compared to the non-ACCO services.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The study provides further support for the important role that ACCOs play in supporting Indigenous people in their recovery.