Using Citizen Science to Address Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditure with Aboriginal Communities in the Far West of South Australia: A Protocol
Ryder, Courtney, Mahoney, Ray, Sharpe, Patrick, Sallows, Georga, Canuto, Karla, Goodman, Andrew, Coombes, Julieann, Pearson, Odette, Hughes, Jaquelynen T., Varnfield, Marlien, Oster, Candice, Karnon, Jonathan, Drummond, Claire, Smith, James A., Omodei-James, Shanti, Otieno, Lavender, Soltani, Ali, and Bonevski, Billie (2025) Using Citizen Science to Address Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditure with Aboriginal Communities in the Far West of South Australia: A Protocol. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22 (11). 1640.
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Abstract
Out-of-pocket health expenditure (OOPHE) significantly impacts people with chronic and complex diseases (CCDs) and injuries. Aboriginal communities experience a higher burden of CCDs and injury, along with greater OOPHE inequities. This project aims to develop and implement a social prescribing digital platform (Web App) to reduce OOPHE. It is grounded in citizen science approaches that value the lived experience and knowledge of Aboriginal people in shaping solutions. The project uses a citizen science methodology adapted for these communities, using knowledge interface methodology to weave together Indigenous and Western knowledges. Research methods (Indigenous, quantitative, qualitative) explore the relational nature of OOPHE risks and protective factors through co-design and workshops with Aboriginal participants to develop the Web App. A community-centric developmental evaluation guides the trial and refinement of the platform, allowing for ongoing learning and adaptation. Process measures inform a national scale-up and evaluation framework. Addressing OOPHE is essential to improving health and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and families living with or at risk of CCDs. This initiative aims to reduce the impact of OOPHE through digital social prescribing, there by connecting people with essential community services to access healthcare, offering a scalable approach to addressing health inequities nationwide.
| Item ID: | 90521 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Scholarly Work) |
| ISSN: | 1660-4601 |
| Keywords: | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, citizen science, community engagement, mixed methods, out-of-pocket health expenditure, Web App |
| Copyright Information: | © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| Funders: | National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) |
| Projects and Grants: | NHMRC 2017719 |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Apr 2026 02:40 |
| FoR Codes: | 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4504 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing > 450409 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services @ 40% 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4504 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing > 450407 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy @ 20% 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4504 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing > 450408 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health promotion @ 40% |
| SEO Codes: | 21 INDIGENOUS > 2103 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health > 210303 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health system performance @ 100% |
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