Exploring the perspectives of urban and regional living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples regarding bush foods, nutrition and health: insights for culturally informed health policy in Australia.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the perspectives of urban and regional living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and children regarding Bush Foods, nutrition and health to advocate for future culturally informed programmes and policy.

DESIGN

The qualitative study conducted nine Yarning sessions, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim. An inductive, reflexive thematic analysis using a codebook was employed to analyse the data.

SETTING

All Yarns were conducted face-to-face in various locations across Southeast Queensland.

PARTICIPANTS

Yarning sessions were conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants ( 20), including ten adults and ten children. Participants resided in areas classified as inner regional, outer regional and major cities.

RESULTS

Five interconnected themes were generated concerning participants' perspectives on Bush Foods, nutrition and health. These themes included the effects of colonisation and bureaucratic impositions, socio-environmental factors influencing food provision, the significance of Bush Foods in cultural connection and nutritional health, the importance of reciprocity in communities and the nuanced role of agency influenced by education.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings were synthesised into two overarching concepts: the role of family, kin and culture at the individual and community level, aligning with cultural determinants of Indigenous health, and the broader socio-political influences of colonialism, capitalism and power imbalances, reflecting social determinants of Indigenous health. This research highlights a need for culturally informed health policies guided by consideration of cultural, social and commercial determinants that support an Indigenised food system and Bush Food reintegration for urban-living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and children.