Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service 1988-2014: breaking barriers in Aboriginal research and services.

This paper describes the growth of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service (Winnunga), located in the Australian Capital Territory, from modest beginnings at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1988 to delivery of a comprehensive holistic model of health care to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of Canberra and the surrounding region. Winnunga's growth and service delivery are connected to the prominence it gives to research. We argue that research commissioned by an Aboriginal Health Service or in partnership with an Aboriginal Health Service is unlike other research in its retention of ownership within the community. The use of Indigenous Standpoint Theory is also possible (see Rigney 1997; Foley 2003; Nakata 2002; Bessarab and Ng'andu 2010). In addition, the findings and recommendations of such research can emancipate communities through enhanced service delivery resulting from evidence-based research. This paper also describes Winnunga's focus on community research studies carried out in partnership with universities and Aboriginal research organisations, as well as Winnunga-initiated studies. Their findings and recommendations have been translated into Winnunga primary health care and social and emotional wellbeing programs. The future emphasis of one such study is its potential to contribute to a national prison health care focus on reducing recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]