Cultural Medicines
What we do
- Support Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and communities to recognise and respect cultural medicines.
- Develop resources such as Cultural Medicine cards, videos, online tutorials, and a Cultural Medicines database.
- Advocate for safe recognition of cultural medicines in the health system.
- Raise awareness among health professionals and consumers through strengths-based campaigns.
Domains of Cultural Medicine
Zyana Gall, Truwulway and Litamirimina woman, Lutruwita (Tasmania)
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Our approach
- Guided by cultural governance and First Nations leadership.
- Informed by Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP).
- Co-designed with Elders, community, ACCHOs, and researchers.
- Building on evidence that shows when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have access to their cultural medicines, they largely use them; evidencing the need for safe conversations with health professionals.
Our Impact
- Strengthening cultural safety in healthcare by supporting safe disclosure of cultural medicine use.
- Respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ right to choose holistic models of health.
- Providing resources for both consumers and health professionals to encourage open and safe conversations.
- Establishing a knowledge base of cultural medicines and any known interactions with Western medicines.
- Increasing awareness and access across the ACCHO sector and broader health system.
Case Study
Example: Cultural Medicine Cards & AMR Workshop
The Cultural Medicines program has developed visual educational cards featuring native plants, to support awareness and respect for cultural medicines. These were recently showcased in a workshop on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), highlighting the role of cultural medicines in immune health and sparking dialogue with ACCHO health professionals.
Resources
- Cultural Medicine cards (to be published).
- Video recordings of case studies and online tutorials (in future / later in project).
- Literature review and interactions summary (in development).
- Links to NACCHO Medicines & Pharmacy publications.
- Links to cultural medicines and publications resource database.
Committees
Guided by a Cultural Medicines Advisory Group (all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander membership) and our Elder Governor (Aboriginal Elder with expertise in cultural medicines).
Oversight from NACCHO Medicines & Pharmacy team.
Contact
For more information about Cultural Medicines, please contact the NACCHO Medicines & Pharmacy team at: medicines@naccho.org.au.
