{
  "abstract": "Objectives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disability have unequal access to health and disability support services. The impacts of colonialism and the deficit-based, Western medical model of disability have been identified as barriers to services in remote Aboriginal communities. This study explored different perceptions of disability and identified strategies to help bridge the gap between Aboriginal community members in the Fitzroy Valley and Western health and disability support services.Design Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach with in-depth interviews. Transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Preliminary results were presented to community representatives for contextualisation, validation and to co-design recommendations.Setting Fitzroy Valley in the Kimberley region, Western Australia.Participants Aboriginal community members with lived experience of disability (n=7) and health and disability support service providers (n=12).Results Eight themes were identified: (1) Aboriginal kinship systems are a community strength and support for people living with disability; (2) Aboriginal people from the Fitzroy Valley perceive disability as a social construct; (3) Western medical model of disability differs from Aboriginal perceptions of disability; (4) Aboriginal people from the Fitzroy Valley perceive different types of disabilities in various ways; (5) good awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the Fitzroy Valley, but more education is wanted; (6) focus on functional needs and supports for disability; (7) barriers to disability services and (8) decolonise disability services. Community co-designed recommendations focus on centring the Aboriginal worldviews of disability in the Fitzroy Valley.Conclusions Decolonising disability services is needed to improve access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This should involve adapting the current Western medical model of services to enable strengths-based diagnostic and support services that align with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship systems, cultures and ways of being. Community leadership must play a central role in this shift.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Public Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Speciality of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Thomas Stubbs"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre, Marulu Team, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, Australia",
        "Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation, NDIS Remote Community Connector Team, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Mudge Bedford"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre, Marulu Team, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Emma Bear"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre, Marulu Team, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Emily Carter"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Public Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Anita Pickard"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre, Marulu Team, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Jadnah Davies"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre, Marulu Team, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Sue Thomas"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Public Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "The University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Alexandra L C Martiniuk"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Public Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospital Network, Kids Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Elizabeth J Elliott"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Speciality of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospital Network, Kids Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Lauren J Rice"
    }
  ],
  "title": "What are the Aboriginal worldviews of disability in the Fitzroy Valley? Aboriginal Participatory Action Research to develop strategies for decolonising disability services",
  "uid": "48035511-d1a5-549c-ad1d-7b220b5c4023"
}