The Communicate Study: partnership across the Top End to improve First Nations patients’ experience and outcomes of healthcare
The vision of the Communicate Study Partnership is to ensure more First Nations patients receive culturally safe healthcare, to ensure better health outcomes.
The NT is well placed to be a leader in cultural safety. In Australia’s NT, the majority (70%) of hospitalised people are First Nations peoples. Most health providers are non-Indigenous, many are unfamiliar with the diversity and strength of First Nations cultures in the NT, and struggle to deliver culturally competent care. Culturally unsafe care has resulted in death, absence of informed consent, high rates of self-discharge, amputations without patient permission and distrust of healthcare providers.
Our focus is on improving the cultural safety of institutions and healthcare providers themselves by:
- Developing, evaluating and implementing the innovative communication and cultural safety education package, based on the award-winning podcast: Ask the Specialist: Larrakia, Tiwi and Yolngu stories to inspire better healthcare.
- Creating a community of practice of culturally safe clinicians, supported by a social media chat group and seminars provided by invited experts
- Improving the supply, demand and effectiveness of Aboriginal language interpreters through developing, evaluating and implementing new models of working with Aboriginal language interpreters in healthcare.
This is a multi-level partnership between Menzies School of Health Research, NT Health, the NT Aboriginal Interpreter Services (AIS), National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), the Djalkiri Foundation and First Nations leaders, health professionals and educators in the NT
Chief investigator:
Postdoctoral researcher:
Project Coordinator:
PhD Student:
- Christina Stanislaus
Key Staff
- Tiana Alley
- Stuart Yiwarr McGrath
- Marita Hefler
- Leah Ginnivan
- Emily Armstrong
- Liz Jarvis
- Sarah Peachment
Information for study participants:
- The dynamic Communicate study team has forged collaborations with NT Health, NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service (AIS), National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), the Djalkiri Foundation and Aboriginal community leaders in the Top End. Initial research focused on Royal Darwin Hospital, but from 2022 onwards the project is expanding to encompass Palmerston Hospital, Katherine Hospital and Gove District Hospital.
This project has both qualitative and quantitative PhD/Master by research opportunities. Please contact us for more information.
Contact information:
Project dates:
- 2015 - current
Funders:
- NHMRC Partnership Grant 2008644, 2022-2026
- MRFF Rapid Applied Research Translation Grant 2022-2027
- Menzies School of Health Research small grants scheme
Collaborators
- NT Health
- NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service
- National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)
- Stuart Yiwarr McGrath
- Rarrtjiwuy Melanie Herdman
- Aunty Bilawara Lee
- Pirrawayingi Puruntatameri
- the Djalkiri Foundation
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The Voice to Parliament "creates an opportunity to codesign a healthy future"
Four people working in the NT’s Top End share perspectives on the potential impact of the Voice to Parliament on health outcomes for First Nations peoples.
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MEDIA RELEASE | Codesign and communication supports a healthier future
The importance of codesigning First Nations healthcare and health research has been highlighted through insights by 4 researchers from Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies).
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Voice to Parliament: a Northern Territory doctor's perspective
As part of the InSight+ coverage of the Voice to Parliament, they spoke to Professor Anna Ralph, the Deputy Director of Research at Menzies School of Health Research.
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ABC Radio | How doctors communicate with Indigenous patients
Vicki Kerrigan chats with the ABC Radio Health Report about the podcast ‘Ask the Specialist: Larrakia, Tiwi and Yolngu stories to inspire better healthcare’. This podcast is helping to improve patient-provider communication across the NT.
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MEDIA RELEASE | $1.5 million to improve patient-provider communication in NT hospitals
The Communicate Study, led by Menzies, was today awarded a five-year major investment of $1.5 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council to improve patient-provider communication at Royal Darwin, Gove and Katherine District Hospitals.
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NT News | Communication to be better after boost
Menzies School of Health Research has been awarded $1.5m to develop health communications in language for NT Aboriginal peoples.
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ANZCA Award
Congratulations to Vicki Kerrigan, winner of ANZCA's 2021 Grant Noble Award for best postgraduate abstract.
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Young Australian of the Year finalists committed to helping those in need
The NT's Young Australian of the Year also helped produce the Ask the Specialist podcast with Menzies School of Health Research.
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2020 CSL Florey Next Generation Award
Vicki Kerrigan, announced as a finalist – for improving Aboriginal health outcomes in the Northern Territory by reimagining how the cultural education can be delivered for healthcare providers.
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NT podcast recognised on national stage
A Northern Territory podcast designed to inspire better healthcare has picked up a silver medal for Smartest Podcast at the Australian Podcast Awards.
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Podcast delivers specialist cultural advice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare
A new Australian made podcast that reveals the reality of the hospital experience for Aboriginal patients in the Top End of the Northern Territory is receiving plaudits for its approach to cultural education in healthcare.
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Oz Podcast Winners Revealed
The winners of the Australian Podcast Awards for 2020 were announced last night (21/11), celebrating the best Australian podcasts across 24 different categories.
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NT health expert, trainee nurse honoured
The Northern Territory's Australian of the Year awardees include NT health expert Dr Wendy Page and Aboriginal Health Practitioner Stuart McGrath. Stuart helped develop the Ask the Specialist podcast.
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Interpreters for Aboriginal people in hospital
On Health Report with Dr Norman Swan - Prof Anna Ralph - Menzies School of Health Research and Infectious Diseases Physician, RDH
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Sunday Territorian | Interpreters vital at RDH
A year-long study conducted by Royal Darwin Hospital has found an increase in the use of Aboriginal interpreters in hospitals is associated with a decline in the number of patients who leave treatment early.
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More Aboriginal interpreters result in less self-discharges from hospitals, new research finds
The Communicate study, led by Professor Anna Ralph, has found that employing Aboriginal interpreters in hospitals can impact the rate of patients leaving treatment early.
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Interpreter boost reduces patient self-discharge
A study conducted at RDH has found that increased use of Aboriginal interpreters was associated with a decrease in patients leaving treatment early.
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Increased interpreter use linked to decrease in patient self-discharges
A new study in the MJA has found that an increase in using Aboriginal interpreters in a hospital was associated with a decrease in patients leaving treatment early.
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The ‘Communicate’ Study : Poster
A poster presentation on a study of patient-provider intercultural communication at Royal Darwin Hospital and consequently Aboriginal patient health outcomes, measured using quantitative and qualitative data.
- Kerrigan, V., McGrath, S.Y., Doig, C. et al. Evaluating the impact of ‘Ask the Specialist Plus’: a training program for improving cultural safety and communication in hospital-based healthcare. BMC Health Serv Res 24, 119 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10565-4
- Kerrigan, V., Park, D., Ross, C. et al. Countering the “wrong story”: a Participatory Action Research approach to developing COVID-19 vaccine information videos with First Nations leaders in Australia. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10, 479 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01965-8
- Ralph, A.P., McGrath, S.Y., Armstrong, E. et al. Improving outcomes for hospitalised First Nations peoples though greater cultural safety and better communication: the Communicate Study Partnership study protocol. Implementation Sci 18, 23 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-023-01276-1
- Kerrigan V, Park D, Ross C, Davies J, Ralph AP. Co-design effective health-literacy videos. Lancet. 2023 Feb 4;401(10374):343. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00010-7.
- Kerrigan, V., S. Y. McGrath, S. W. Majoni, M. Walker, M. Ahmat, B. Lee, A. Cass, M. Hefler and A. P. Ralph (2021). "“The talking bit of medicine, that’s the most important bit”: doctors and Aboriginal interpreters collaborate to transform culturally competent hospital care." International Journal for Equity in Health, 20(1): 170. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01507-1%C2%A0
- Kerrigan, V., S. Y. McGrath, S. W. Majoni, M. Walker, M. Ahmat, B. Lee, A. Cass, M. Hefler and A. P. Ralph (2021). "From “stuck” to satisfied: Aboriginal people’s experience of culturally safe care with interpreters in a Northern Territory hospital." BMC Health Services Research 21(1): 548. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-021-06564-4
- Mithen, V., V. Kerrigan, G. Dhurrkay, T. Morgan, N. Keilor, C. Castillon, M. Hefler and A. P. Ralph (2021). "Aboriginal patient and interpreter perspectives on the delivery of culturally safe hospital‐based care." Health Promot J Austr 32(S1): 155-165. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.415
- The Communicate Study group (2020). "Improving communication with Aboriginal hospital inpatients: a quasi-experimental interventional study." Medical Journal of Australia, 213(4): 180-181. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50700
- Kerrigan, V., N. Lewis, A. Cass, M. Hefler and A. P. Ralph (2020). "“How can I do more?” Cultural awareness training for hospital-based healthcare providers working with high Aboriginal caseload." BMC Medical Education, 20(1): 173. https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-020-02086-5
- Ralph, A. P., A. Lowell, J. Murphy, T. Dias, D. Butler, B. Spain, J. T. Hughes, L. Campbell, B. Bauert, C. Salter, K. Tune and A. Cass (2017). "Low uptake of Aboriginal interpreters in healthcare: exploration of current use in Australia's Northern Territory." BMC Health Services Research 17(1): 733. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-017-2689-y
Podcasts:
Videos:
- 2024 Cultural Safety Champions - Presentations
- Menzies COVID-19 Australian Vaccine information videos
- Stay Strong on Country Videos - (COVID-19)
Policy and Practice Briefs:
- Communication and cultural safety training - Policy and Practice Brief
- The Communicate Study: Interim summary of Findings and Recommendations
- Co-designing health literacy videos
- The benefits of working with Aboriginal interpreters at Royal Darwin Hospital
Research Scholarship Opportunities (Masters or PhD)
The students will be part of The Communicate Study, led by Professor Anna Ralph, which aims to improve First Nations patients’ experience and outcomes of healthcare by ensuring healthcare is culturally safe. The study implements and evaluates creative ways to embed culturally safe practice including increasing health provider access to communication and cultural safety training and increasing uptake of Aboriginal interpreters in hospitals. The study is being conducted in partnership with key stakeholders: Northern Territory Government (Top End) health services, the NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service, the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, the Djalkiri Foundation and Menzies School of Health Research. Below are two examples of student research opportunities, however prospective students can formulate and present their own research ideas for discussion with the team.
- Research Scholar – Masters or PhD (Qualitative)
We are seeking a graduate with qualitative research skills wishing to undertake a Master by Research or Doctor of Philosophy degree at Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University.
Examples of study activities to be undertaken by the quantitative research scholar include:
- Scale up and evaluate the impact of novel cultural safety educational approaches for NT healthcare providers, building on the multi-award winning podcast, ‘Ask the Specialist’ which is delivered alongside reflexive discussion groups.
- Implement and measure the effects of a suite of health service interventions including clinical championing of cultural safety, new models of working with Aboriginal interpreters and Aboriginal Health Practitioners.
- Explore the impact of cultural safety interventions on health provider attitudes and behaviour with a particular focus on intercultural communication
- Explore the impact of cultural safety interventions on patient healthcare experience and outcomes of new approaches to communication including around surgical consent.
- Research Scholar – Masters or PhD (Quantitative)
We are seeking a graduate with economics, statistics or quantitative research skills wishing to undertake a Master by Research or Doctor of Philosophy degree at Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University.
Examples of study activities to be undertaken by the quantitative research scholar include:
- Determine costs and cost effectiveness of study activities and recommendations to improve demand, supply and efficiency of Aboriginal interpreter usage.
- Establish a linked dataset of hospital Admitted Patient Care outcomes (self-discharge, length of stay, readmission) with language documentation and Aboriginal interpreter use.
- Explore relationships between interpreter access and outcomes.
- Apply interrupted time series analysis to determine longitudinal changes.
- Implement initiatives to help achieve KPI targets including technological improvements - such as iPad-based interpreter access via video link and development of resources for common medical conditions in Aboriginal languages.
- Feed data back in a continuous quality improvement process to key health system stakeholders and front-line healthcare providers to build momentum in health system improvements to achieve better outcomes.
Eligibility: The successful applicants will need to meet the eligibility criteria for admission to a Master by Research or Doctor of Philosophy degree at Charles Darwin University.
Scholarship Provisions: Candidates will be encouraged to seek Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship funding from 2023 through Charles Darwin University. A successful candidate who is a recipient of a primary scholarship such as RTP will be eligible to apply for a Menzies top-up scholarship to the value of $10,000 per annum for up to 3.5 years. Successful candidates will receive $3,500 per annum for up to 3.5 years to cover direct costs of the research.
Application Process: Applicants should submit the following:
- Brief summary of why they want to participate in the project
- Current CV
- Copies of certified academic transcripts
- Proof of Residency (not required for Australian or New Zealand citizens)
All applications and enquiries should be submitted to Prof. Anna Ralph: anna.ralph@menzies.edu.au.