VicHealth researcher: Priscilla Pyett
“Collaborative research on Aboriginal peoples can only be undertaken by non-Aboriginal researchers who have established ongoing relationships of mutual trust.”
Dr Priscilla Pyett of The University of Melbourne is undertaking research that aims to establish sustainable research relationships with the Koori Community. Such relationships will facilitate research that will improve health in the Koori Community.
Research topic: Developing sustainable Aboriginal health research practice
Website: www.onemda.unimelb.edu.au
The long history of research on Aboriginal peoples has left the Koori Community (like other Indigenous communities around the world) deeply suspicious of research, researchers and research institutions. One of the ways forward is through research partnerships and collaboration between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organisations.
However, collaborative research can only be undertaken by non-Aboriginal researchers who have established ongoing relationships of mutual trust. This research aims to develop sustainable research relationships with the Koori Community through ongoing collaboration, capacity building, research brokerage and support for ethical research practices.
Priscilla Pyett is a Senior Research Fellow at the Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit, which is located within the Centre for Health and Society in the School of Population Health at The University of Melbourne. Onemda has a majority of Indigenous staff and works in partnership with many Victorian Aboriginal organisations.
Dr Pyett’s research program facilitates and evaluates the development of effective partnerships between Aboriginal communities and research institutions so that research collaborations can function productively and be sustainable at an institutional and an individual level.
“The VicHealth fellowship has enabled me to strengthen the collaborative research relationships I established during my post-doctoral research,” Priscilla said. “This work is necessarily slow, and conventional research outcomes are infrequent. VicHealth’s support allows me to fulfil my promise to the Koori Community; it also demonstrates VicHealth’s own long-term commitment to improving Aboriginal health in Victoria.”