Is it Aboriginal friendly? Searching for ways of working in research and practice that support Aboriginal women

This article describes my journey as a nurse as I search for better ways to work with urban Aboriginal women. Learning as I build and maintain trusting relationships with Elders, Aboriginal health professionals and communities has been an important first step. Incorporating reflective practice, participatory action research and ethical guidelines has further assisted me to work in more culturally safe and respectful ways. While there has been increasing recognition of access and equity issues in Australia's current neo-colonial period, actual improvements have been very slow to emerge. Meanwhile many Aboriginal people continue to experience poor levels of health. My hope is that this article can contribute to the growing body of knowledge that recognises the impact of past and present colonisation practices and shifts health care towards collaborative healing and well being models that are more supportive of Aboriginal people and their needs. The emphasis on Aboriginal women's health rather than mixed gender health care comes from my experiences in sexual health, where many Australian Aboriginal women prefer to access 'women only' services.