Culturally Informed Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Evaluations: A Scoping Review

Kristina Vine (), Tessa Benveniste, Shanthi Ramanathan, Jo Longman, Megan Williams, Alison Laycock and Veronica Matthews
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Kristina Vine: University of Sydney, University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
Tessa Benveniste: School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Adelaide, SA 5034, Australia
Shanthi Ramanathan: Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW 2305, Australia
Jo Longman: University of Sydney, University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
Megan Williams: School of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
Alison Laycock: University of Sydney, University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
Veronica Matthews: University of Sydney, University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: Rigorous and effective evaluations inform policy and service delivery and create evidence of program impacts and outcomes for the communities they are designed to support. Genuine engagement of communities is a key feature of effective evaluation, building trust and enhancing relevancy for communities and providing meaningful outcomes and culturally relevant findings. This applies to Indigenous peoples’ leadership and perspectives when undertaking evaluations on programs that involve Indigenous communities. This systematic scoping review sought to explore the characteristics of culturally informed evaluations and the extent of their application in Australia, including the use of specific evaluation tools and types of community engagement. Academic and grey literature were searched between 2003 and 2023, with 57 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Over time, there was an increase in the number of culturally informed evaluations undertaken, predominantly in the health and wellbeing sector. Around a quarter used a tool specifically developed for Indigenous evaluations. Half of the publications included Indigenous authorship; however, most studies lacked detail on how evaluations engaged with communities. This review highlights the need for further development of evaluation tools and standardised reporting to allow for shared learnings and improvement in culturally safe evaluation practices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Keywords: evaluation; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; community engagement; community led; culturally informed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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