A critical hermeneutic perspective in the context of an Aboriginal wellbeing program on Gumbaynggirr Country, Australia

The diverse and holistic wellbeing needs of First Nations Peoples in Australia have been marginalised by dominant research and health service policies and practices which prioritise western paradigms. The aim of this thesis was to engage with critical hermeneutics to transform understandings and practices in the context of the Aboriginal Wellbeing program, Spring into Shape, situated on Gumbaynggirr Country, Australia. Through a lens of Habermas’ theory of communicative action, the research approach was collaborative and dialogical, guided by the local Aboriginal Health Service staff and community members. Throughout this research, ongoing community engagement was maintained. Three layers of praxis: i) understanding my own process, ii) informing self and others, and iii) interrogating western modernity; provided an approach to link understandings and practices for self determination of First Nations' holistic wellbeing. I am a non-Indigenous person, who collaborated with three Aboriginal dialogue partners, one of whom acted as a cultural mentor, and three non-Indigenous dialogue partners across this thesis. Fifteen participants and staff from the Spring into Shape program engaged in individual Yarning, with nine participants becoming co-researchers through their contributions to two half-day collaborative Yarning sessions. Individual and collaborative Yarning transcripts, as well as published literature and diarised reflections, were used as data for critical hermeneutic interpretation. Informed by collaborative Yarning, this thesis presents actions that health professionals, policymakers, researchers, and educators can take to actively disrupt dominant research and health service understandings and practices. The actions are grounded in critical reflection, collaborative approaches, and shared communication. The three layers of praxis threaded throughout this thesis contribute to the culmination of a model of transformed practice called walking alongside that guides towards a praxis. Empowering those involved in wellbeing programs, the model advocates for reform that respects the capability and cultural legitimacy of a lifeworld approach, striving towards First Nations’ holistic wellbeing and self-determination.