Menzies School of Health Research; Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, PO Box 41096, Casuarina, Northern Territory 0811, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2013 May 15;13:473. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-473.
The burden of chronic disease in Indigenous Australia is more than double that of non-Indigenous populations and even higher in remote Northern Territory (NT) communities. Sufficient levels of physical activity are known to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve the health of those already suffering from chronic disease. It has been identified that effective promotion of physical activity in Indigenous settings requires the diverse cultural perspectives and participation of Indigenous people. However, Indigenous concepts of physical activity are not represented in the public health literature and examples of Indigenous involvement in physical activity promotion are scarce. This study aimed to explore and describe local perspectives, experiences and meanings of physical activity in two remote NT Indigenous communities.
Qualitative research methods guided by ethnographic and participatory action research principles were used. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 23 purposively selected community members were the main source of data, augmented by five commissioned paintings by community-based artists and observations recorded in a journal by the first author.
The findings reveal that in this cultural context the meaning of physical activity is embedded in socially significant and economically necessary physical engagement with the environment. Participants described physical activities associated with Indigenous natural and cultural resource management, customary spaces, seasonal timing and traditional education as creating and protecting health. These activities were viewed not only as culturally appropriate physical activities that contribute to health but as legitimate, physically active forms of social organisation, education and employment that help to build and maintain relationships, wealth, resources and the environment.
This different construction of physical activity in remote Indigenous communities highlights the importance of involving Indigenous people in the development and implementation of physical activity promotion. Physical activities associated with traditional Indigenous cultural practices and being active 'on country' need to be viewed as legitimate health promotion activities. Exploring further ways to enable Indigenous people in remote NT to be involved in creating viable active livelihoods on 'traditional country' needs to be considered as imperative to health improvement.
澳大利亚原住民的慢性病负担是非原住民的两倍多，在北领地（NT）偏远社区甚至更高。有足够水平的身体活动已知可以降低慢性病的风险，并改善已经患有慢性病的人的健康。已经确定，在原住民环境中有效促进身体活动需要原住民的不同文化视角和参与。然而，原住民对身体活动的概念在公共卫生文献中并没有体现，原住民参与身体活动促进的例子也很少。本研究旨在探索和描述北领地两个偏远原住民社区中身体活动的当地观点、经验和意义。
研究采用了以民族志和参与式行动研究原则为指导的定性研究方法。主要的数据来源是对 23 名有目的地选择的社区成员进行的半结构化访谈，此外还有五位社区艺术家委托创作的五幅画以及第一作者在日记中记录的观察结果。
研究结果表明，在这种文化背景下，身体活动的意义体现在与环境进行具有社会意义和经济必要的身体互动中。参与者描述了与原住民自然资源管理、习俗空间、季节性时间和传统教育相关的身体活动，认为这些活动可以创造和保护健康。这些活动不仅被视为有助于健康的文化上适当的身体活动，而且被视为合法的、积极的社会组织、教育和就业形式，有助于建立和维持关系、财富、资源和环境。
在偏远的原住民社区中，这种对身体活动的不同构建方式强调了让原住民参与身体活动促进的制定和实施的重要性。与传统的原住民文化实践相关的身体活动和在“原住民土地”上的积极活动应该被视为合法的健康促进活动。需要进一步探讨如何使北领地偏远地区的原住民能够参与在“传统土地”上创造可行的积极生计，这对于改善健康至关重要。
