Research Tuesdays: Decolonising healthcare

First Nations patients and their families should have a say in their own healthcare. Understanding and valuing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lived experiences, strengths, and priorities is essential for addressing gaps in the system. And yet these voices have historically gone unheard.

Fortunately, University of Adelaide researchers are listening—and taking action. Join Professor Janet Kelly and Dr Kim O’Donnell this February to see how they’re changing the healthcare narrative and how the system operates.

Presenters

Professor Janet Kelly is a nurse researcher at the University of Adelaide who grew up on Kangaroo Island with British German ancestry. She has worked extensively across urban and regional settings—at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, in midwifery, child and adolescent health, Aboriginal, and women’s and sexual healthcare. Janet co-leads AKction2, a 5-year NHMRC Ideas grant-funded project identifying barriers, enablers, gaps, and strategies to improve First Nations kidney care.

Dr Kim O’Donnell is a Malyangapa/Barkindji mother and internationally recognised public health researcher from Wilcannia, a remote area in far Western New South Wales. Kim brings extensive lived experience in translating research into practice, offering timely, consistent and quality initiatives through collaborative Indigenous-led and consensus-driven approaches. Kim co-leads AKction2 alongside Professor Janet Kelly and works part-time as a senior researcher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health at both the University of Adelaide and Flinders University.