Overview

This research program investigates the supportive and inhibitive factors of Indigenous males’ participation and achievement in higher education, in addition to health promotion strategies for Indigenous males.
Contact: Professor James Smith

Funding acknowledgement: FCMHW (Masonic Charities Trust/Menzies)

Project 1: Targeted youth-focused alcohol risk-reduction health promotion strategies

Risky alcohol consumption is disproportionately concentrated among, and a major cause of preventable death, disease and injury for, young people. Emerging evidence suggests gender norms shape the drinking behaviours of Australian youth however, health promotion investments have not responded to this scholarship; and the unique relationship between gender and alcohol consumption among regional and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations has largely been ignored. This project is a collaborative, three-stage (survey, health promotion co-design, trial & evaluation) health promotion project will help bridge this gap to advance preventative health strategies in this target population.

Funding acknowledgement: The Australian Government Department of Health, Masonic Charities Trust.

Contact: Professor James Smith

Key reference: Merlino A, Clifford S, Smith JA. New frontiers in alcohol and gender: The role of health promotion policy and practice in Australia. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2020 Sep 21. doi: 10.1111/dar.13166.

Project 2: Indigenous males in higher education

Access to education is often viewed as a social determinant of health. This project investigates the supportive and inhibitive factors of Indigenous males’ participation and achievement in higher education. Men, and specifically Indigenous males, are under-represented in higher education across all equity groups. The research examines i) the intersection between cultural identity and gender among Indigenous males to better understand the higher education aspirations of secondary-school age Indigenous males, and ii) the critical success factors and influences that have supported Indigenous males (of any age) to thrive and achieve in higher education.

Funding acknowledgement: The National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Masonic Charities Trust.

Contact: Professor James Smith

Key reference: Smith J.A., Robertson K. (2020) Evaluating Cultural Competence in Indigenous Higher Education Contexts in Australia: A Challenge for Change. In: Frawley J., Russell G., Sherwood J. (eds) Cultural Competence and the Higher Education Sector. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5362-2_7