Institute for Health and Ageing, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Gerontologist. 2020 Apr 2;60(3):513-524. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny140.
Traditional Elders are integral to the social structure of Australian Indigenous communities. Due to progressive loss of traditional way of life, however, the role of Elders has been eroding. This study aims to develop a conceptual model of the role of Elders in an Australian Indigenous community, with the goal of attaining strategies to strengthen the role of Elders.
The study, conducted in a regional Indigenous community in Australia, adopted a community-based participatory approach. Design and focus of the project were informed by a community forum (Yarning Circle). One-on-one semistructured interviews and focus groups with community members were conducted by Indigenous researchers. Group concept mapping (GCM) was applied to elicit major themes in qualitative data, from the point of view of community members, and to derive a conceptual model of the role of Elders.
Fifty members of the Indigenous community took part in interviews and focus groups. The participants' median age was 45 years (range 18-76 years); 31 (62%) were female. An additional 24 Indigenous community members took part in the data sorting task of GCM. GCM identified seven major aspects of the role of Elders, including Community relations, Passing down the knowledge, Dealing with racism and oppression, Building a better resourced community, Intergenerational connectedness, Safeguarding our identity, and Caring for our youth.
Elders fulfill many important roles in contemporary Indigenous communities. Our results can be used to assist the community to codesign a program to increase community wellbeing.
传统长者是澳大利亚原住民社区社会结构的重要组成部分。然而，由于传统生活方式的逐渐丧失，长者的角色一直在逐渐削弱。本研究旨在构建一个澳大利亚原住民社区中长者角色的概念模型，旨在制定加强长者角色的策略。
该研究在澳大利亚一个地区性原住民社区进行，采用了以社区为基础的参与式方法。项目的设计和重点是受社区论坛（Yarning Circle）的启发。由原住民研究人员对社区成员进行一对一的半结构化访谈和焦点小组讨论。采用群体概念映射（GCM）方法，从社区成员的角度引出定性数据中的主要主题，并得出长者角色的概念模型。
共有 50 名原住民社区成员参加了访谈和焦点小组讨论。参与者的中位数年龄为 45 岁（范围 18-76 岁）；31 名（62%）为女性。另外 24 名原住民社区成员参与了 GCM 的数据分类任务。GCM 确定了长者角色的七个主要方面，包括社区关系、传承知识、应对种族主义和压迫、建设资源更丰富的社区、代际联系、维护我们的身份和关爱我们的青年。
在当代原住民社区中，长者扮演着许多重要的角色。我们的研究结果可以用于协助社区共同设计一个增加社区福祉的项目。
