Aims: The were two research questions in this PhD. In what ways do Aboriginal service users, Aboriginal staff and non-Aboriginal staff experience intercultural communication at Alice Springs Hospital (ASH)? Do initiatives, policies and practices foster intercultural communication between these groups?
Setting: The ASH catchment area covers 872,861 square kilometres and includes six local government areas (LGAs) with a total population of 45,161. There are 10 remote communities in SA, 10 in WA and 34 communities in the NT serviced by ASH. In the top responses of languages other than English, there were 13 Aboriginal languages and seven non-English languages in these LGAs. There are 25 known language groups surrounding Alice Springs within three main Aboriginal language families: Western Desert, Ngaarkic and Arandic. These language family groups have multiple dialects, often with commonalities between vocabulary and grammar.
Results: Referral data were collected from the Aboriginal Engagement and Strategy Unit (AESU) within ASH and the Aboriginal Interpreter Service ( AIS), an external Territory Government department. Categories included types of requests and who utilised the services between July 2018 and June 2019. The top three reasons for referral data to the AESU (n=4,462) were interpreting (41.4%), transport (29.7%) and cultural brokerage (16.8%). The AIS (n=270) primarily managed mental health related referrals (27%), medical reviews (17%) and general discussions (16%). Overarching themes emerged from the participant interviews. An effort was made not to deliver the same story about deficits in healthcare communication in the Northern Territory, as this is well documented. Instead, the focus shifted towards the impact on human feelings which will be demonstrated through dramaturgical analysis. In general, three themes focus on procedural mechanisms and processes. Hard or challenging situations; education, knowledge, learning, and understanding; workflow, resources, protocols, and approaches. Themes about interpersonal aspects of communication include personalities, emotions, and expressed feelings; trust and relationships; cultural influences, differences, and explanations. This research found that support service structures often do not align with staff expectations and needs. The PhD acknowledged certain shortcomings then provided recommendations and propositions as a means to address these issues.