Background:

Many of the excellent projects occurring in Indigenous communities do not get exposure and are rarely published in traditional academic journals. The reasons for this include lack of experience and skills, resources and time. The WA Indigenous Storybooks aim to address this issue by providing an easy and non-threatening way for Indigenous people to record and share their positive stories within their own networks and with the broader West Australian and Australian community.

Methods:

A Steering Committee of key Indigenous practitioners oversee this project. PHAIWA has developed a framework which ensures all stories are structured under five headings. This framework is used to guide the storytelling process. Consultation with Indigenous people and communities takes place to collaborate on the writing and storytelling process and relevant photos are taken of both the project and storytellers involved. Once we have launched the book in the relevant region, we conduct post evaluation to determine reach and effectiveness.

Results/Discussions:

The Storybooks provide Indigenous people with an opportunity to share their positive stories and express the value and benefits of their projects for public consumption. These innovative Storybooks encourage improved dissemination of written Indigenous stories in a culturally appropriate and sensitive manner. They recognise and celebrate the achievements of Indigenous people and their communities by embracing a holistic view of health and sectors outside of health including education, employment, housing, environment, the arts, sport, alcohol and drugs and others.

Conclusions/implications:

Through our evaluations as well as the high level of interest from other states and stakeholders outside of health, we know the Storybooks are extremely well received and have an immense positive impact on storytellers and Indigenous communities.

The paper will outline how the featured stories portray positive outcomes in communities which have resulted from sharing and disseminating these stories.