INDIGENOUS HEALTH NETWORKS AND RESILIENCY

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Research has shown that psychosocial and behavioural processes of networks can result in better health status among and between non-Indigenous populations. In Australia, Canada and New Zealand Indigenous health organizations and networks have formed to combat health disparities and advance opportunities for Indigenous populations. Little is know about the social, economic, cultural and political life-course of such networks in a �post-colonial� environment, or whether these contribute to �resiliency� in health workers, researchers and policy developers that is translated into improved health for Indigenous populations. Historically the resiliency literature has viewed resilience as a fixed attribute of individuals. Some inroads have been made in defining resilience relative to social and cultural collective contexts. However, no study defines resiliency from an Indigenous perspective or within the context of networks and resilience generally. This study will develop Indigenous constructs of �resiliency� from a decolonized and non-deficit perspective for Indigenous health workers, researchers and policy developers, and will examine how networks and �resiliency� intersect. It will further explore whether Indigenous health worker, researcher and policy developer networks may be important mediators in laying a foundation for good health throughout life for Indigenous peoples. Constructs of �resiliency� specific to each country and across countries will be identified from themes that arise from key informant interviews. Comparative projects in each country will be designed to evaluate the impact of these networks on improving health status and combating health problems such as diabetes mellitus. These Indigenous constructs of �resiliency� will inform the ICIHRP research program intended to improve Indigenous health status.