Empowering communities through data literacy: a qualitative study exploring Indigenous Australian perceptions, engagement and understanding of data

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/joci.v20i1.5707

Keywords:

Data literacy, Indigenous health, Indigenous Research, Data Sovereignty, Data Governance

Abstract

Data literacy is an essential competency needed to use data to inform decisions and participate in contemporary society. Importantly, in the context of Indigenous health it enables engagement with health services and facilitates health management, Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous data governance. However, while Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous data governance are gaining momentum globally, there are no mechanisms for understanding or enhancing data literacy within Indigenous communities.  To explore this, a research project was co-designed between the QUT Centre for Data Science and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane (ATSICHS), a community-controlled health service in Queensland Australia, to provide insights into the current state of data literacy, community perceptions of data, and identify community suggestions for enhancing data literacy. Furthermore, by utilizing an Indigenist research design, the project ensured Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of knowing, being, and doing were privileged and prominent throughout research design, data collection and analysis. The qualitative study included 20 semi-structured interviews with Brisbane Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples who had accessed or engaged with ATSICHS. This paper presents insights into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ perspectives on data and data literacy, which may benefit community-controlled organizations and other Indigenous communities within Australia and around the world.

Author Biographies

Becki Cook, QUT Centre for Data Science

Becki Cook is Centre Manager and a PhD candidate with the QUT Centre for Data Science at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

Stephen Corporal, QUT Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology; Indigenous Data Network, University of Melbourne

Dr Stephen Corporal is a visiting Research Fellow at QUT Centre for Data Scienceand is employed the University of Melbourne as a Senior Research Fellow in the Indigenous Data Network.

Jarryd Aleckson, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane Limited

Jarryd Aleckson is the General Manager- Corporate Services of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane Limited, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD.

Renee Blackman, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane Limited

Renee Blackman is the CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane Limited, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD. 

Glenn Kefford, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane Limited,

Glenn Kefford is the Manager- Research of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane Limited, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD. 

David Lovell, QUT Centre for Data Science

David Lovell is a Professor in QUT’s School of Computer Science and a chief investigator in the QUT Centre for Data Science at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.

Kerrie Mengersen, QUT Centre for Data Science

Kerrie Mengersen is a Distinguished Professor of Statistics and the Centre Director of the QUT Centre for Data Science at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.

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Published

2024-07-08

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Section

Research Articles