TY - JOUR TI - Dissonance, Disagreement, Difference: Challenging Thematic Consensus to Decolonise Grounded Theory AU - McGaw, J. AU - Vance, A. T2 - International Journal of Qualitative Methods AB - Over the past two decades researchers have been exploring new hybrid methodologies to decolonise Indigenous mental health research. Grounded Theory with Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR), often using Indigenist methods, is the most common. Grounded Theory’s claim to rigour is its transparent, organised process of sifting and theme finding, while CPAR respects Indigenous self-determination and Indigenous ways of knowing doing and being, involving Indigenous research participants in all stages of the research from data collection to analysis. On the surface it would seem to be the ideal methodological approach to navigate the cultural divide. However, this article will argue that Grounded Theory’s inherent weakness is in the process of thematic analysis, which uses consensus during the analysis phase to find dominant themes. Drawing on the social systems theory of Niklas Luhmann and the political theory of Chantal Mouffe, this article will argue for a group process of “agonistic pluralism” instead. Searching for shared truths has a tendency to smooth out differences. The article proposes an approach for configuring a research team and conducting team analysis that struggles with, and accounts for, dissonances, disagreements and differences. Furthermore, it argues these differences should be recorded as important findings along with agreed themes. The approach has been developed to explore community perspectives on the relationship between culture and health, and in turn, to develop culturally appropriate mental health therapies for First Nations young people within a Western paediatric hospital. © The Author(s) 2023. DA - 2023/// PY - 2023 DO - 10.1177/16094069231220775 DP - Scopus VL - 22 ST - Dissonance, Disagreement, Difference DB - Scopus KW - first nations KW - grounded theory KW - indigenism KW - qualitative research methods ER - TY - JOUR TI - Roaming: Therapeutic and Design Practices for Indigenous Healing AU - McGaw, J. AU - Vance, A. AU - Patten, U.H. AU - Kim, S. T2 - Journal of Architectural Education DA - 2024/// PY - 2024 DO - 10.1080/10464883.2024.2303919 VL - 78 IS - 1 SP - 26 EP - 41 UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85188627221&doi=10.1080%2f10464883.2024.2303919&partnerID=40&md5=e42c4f59613024f91764e2bef7b76c87 DB - Scopus KW - Architecture KW - Indigenous ER - TY - JOUR TI - A ‘Holding Place’: An Indigenous Typology to Mediate Hospital Care AU - McGaw, J. AU - Vance, A. AU - Patten, U.H. T2 - Journal of Architectural Education DA - 2022/// PY - 2022 DO - 10.1080/10464883.2022.2017694 VL - 76 IS - 1 SP - 75 EP - 84 UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85125932313&doi=10.1080%2f10464883.2022.2017694&partnerID=40&md5=77e1651735d34d5f8d9c5d4f1ad0d914 DB - Scopus KW - Architecture KW - architecture ER - TY - JOUR TI - ‘Doing culture’ in contemporary south-eastern Australia: how Indigenous people are creating and maintaining strong cultural identities for improved health and wellbeing AU - Tootell, N. AU - McGaw, J. AU - Patten, U.H. AU - Vance, A. T2 - BMC Public Health AB - Background: Indigenous people in Australia experience far poorer health than non-Indigenous Australians. A growing body of research suggests that Indigenous people who are strong in their cultural identity experience better health than those who are not. Yet little is known about how Indigenous people create and maintain strong cultural identities in the contemporary context. This paper explores how Indigenous people in south-eastern Australia create and maintain strong cultural identities to support their health and wellbeing. Methods: Data were collected from 44 Indigenous people living in the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria via yarning. Yarning is a cultural mode of conversation that privileges Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being. Yarning participants were selected for their prominence within Victorian Indigenous health services and/or their prominence within the Victorian Indigenous community services sector more broadly. Due to the restrictions of COVID-19, yarns were conducted individually online via Zoom. Data were analysed employing constructivist grounded theory, which was the overarching qualitative research methodology. Results: All yarning participants considered maintaining a strong cultural identity as vital to maintaining their health and wellbeing. They did this via four main ways: knowing one’s Mob and knowing one’s Country; connecting with one’s own Mob and with one’s own Country; connecting with Community and Country more broadly; and connecting with the more creative and/or expressive elements of Culture. Importantly, these practices are listed in order of priority. Indigenous people who either do not know their Mob or Country, or for whom the connections with their own Mob and their own Country are weak, may therefore be most vulnerable. This includes Stolen Generations survivors, their descendants, and others impacted by historical and contemporary child removal practices. Conclusions: The yarns reveal some of the myriad practical ways that Indigenous people maintain a strong cultural identity in contemporary south-eastern Australia. While programs designed to foster connections to Community, Country and/or Culture may benefit all Indigenous participants, those most disconnected from their Ancestral roots may benefit most. Further research is required to determine how best to support Indigenous Victorians whose connections to their own Mob and their own Country are unable to be (re)built. © The Author(s) 2024. DA - 2024/// PY - 2024 DO - 10.1186/s12889-024-19146-w DP - Scopus VL - 24 IS - 1 ST - ‘Doing culture’ in contemporary south-eastern Australia DB - Scopus KW - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander KW - Constructed Grounded Theory KW - Country KW - Culture KW - First Nations KW - Identity KW - Koori KW - Stolen Generations KW - Yarning KW - Yarns ER - TY - JOUR TI - The Development of Elder-Governed Adjuvant Cultural Therapy for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Young People With Mental Health Conditions AU - Vance, A. AU - McGaw, J. AU - O’Rorke, D. AU - White, S. AU - Eades, S. T2 - Qualitative Health Research AB - A 10-year review of the 2008 Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Close the Gap Strategy identified the lack of involvement of Indigenous people in developing policies as a key reason health disparities persist. It also posits that disconnection from Country and culture have been crucial factors. Physical and mental health cannot be separated from spiritual health and well-being amongst Indigenous Australians. This article describes the co-development of a cultural enrichment research study with Indigenous Elders, health service leaders, and community members that places culture at the centre of care to augment traditional Western mental health management. The study has been overseen and nurtured from its inception by a governance board of Traditional Custodian Elders and an Advisory Group of Indigenous health workers. Qualitative data were collected through community ‘zoom-yarns’ between an Indigenous research assistant and 44 community members during COVID-19 lockdowns. These yarns were analysed through an innovative, constructivist, multi-perspectival discursive grounded theory method. Findings have led to an Elder-governed adjuvant cultural therapy which is currently being trialled and will be evaluated using the same multi-perspectival discursive grounded theory research methodology. One third of all Indigenous Australians now live in capital cities, so developing models to bring culture and Country into urban health facilities are becoming increasingly important. The Indigenous-led research approach outlined in this paper suggests a model for engaging Indigenous communities that mainly distrust Western research and have been failed by Western mental health care. It has the potential to shape future policy. © The Author(s) 2024. DA - 2024/// PY - 2024 DO - 10.1177/10497323241234010 DP - Scopus VL - 34 IS - 13 SP - 1261 EP - 1271 DB - Scopus KW - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander KW - Elder-governed Cultural Practices KW - mental health KW - therapy ER -