Review

What is Indigenous cultural health and wellbeing? A narrative

review
Brett J. Biles,a,b,∗ Nina Serova,b,c Gavin Stanbrook,b Brooke Brady,d,e,f Jonathan Kingsley,g Stephanie M. Topp,h,i and Aryati Yashadhanab,c,i
a
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Division, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
b
School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
c
Centre for Primary Health Care & Equity, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
d
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
e
Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
f
UNSW Ageing Futures Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
g
School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
h
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, QLD, Australia
i
School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Summary The Lancet Regional

Health - Western Pacific
Indigenous cultural health is an emerging field of research and reflects the unique connections Indigenous peoples
2024;52: 101220
have with their Country, culture, and knowledge systems. This narrative review explores the concept of cultural health
Published Online 10
focusing on the interplay between culture, health, and wellbeing within settler colonial contexts. The review is mostly
November 2024
focused on Australian research, despite its international scope. A narrative review methodology was employed, search [Link]
terms were compiled, and a title and abstract search was executed across two databases (Scopus, PubMed), confined 1016/[Link].2024.
to English language papers, with a focus on Australia. Three key themes were identified: Country; culture, and 101220
Indigenous knowledges. Country is vital to health. Culture practices offer frameworks for healing nurturing the
relationship between people, Country and culture. Privileging Indigenous knowledges is a means to achieving health
and wellbeing. Indigenous cultural health encompasses the interconnectedness of Country, people and culture,
demanding a holistic approach that integrates Indigenous knowledges and practices. In Australia, these core com-
ponents of cultural health must be situated in a contemporary context of ongoing colonisation. This narrative review
underscores the importance of culturally centred approaches in addressing health inequities and enhancing the
wellbeing of Indigenous peoples.

Funding This study was funded by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRF2009522 &
MRF2025330).

Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license ([Link]

Keywords: Aboriginal; Cultural health; Country; Culture; Indigenous knowledges

Introduction includes the concept of cultural health,8 culture as a

An emerging body of literature, including articles in this determinant of health,9,10 and culture-as-health.7 Cultural
special collection,1–3 has documented culture as a pro- health’ is an emerging concept, and research in this area
tective health factor among Aboriginal and Torres Strait seeks to understand how an individual’s connection to,
Islanderj peoples in Australia,4–6 and Indigenous peoples and practice of, culture, along with the availability and
in settler colonial contexts internationally.7 This work accessibility of cultural resources (people, knowledge,
physical sites), and cultural governance structures,
*Corresponding author. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Division, impact health and well-being among Aboriginal
University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia. peoples.11
E-mail address: [Link]@[Link] (B.J. Biles). These concepts recognise that health is a cultural
j
The concept of ‘Indigenous’ is rooted in a colonial worldview, and phenomenon which should be at the centre of health
scholars have called for more emphasis on self-identification and
and wellbeing initiatives involving Indigenous peoples.
broader recognition of presettler societies (Silburn et al., 2016; United
Nations, 2016). The importance of self-definition is exemplified in Despite this growing awareness, there is a significant
Australia, where each Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group has gap between the theoretical acknowledgment of cultural
distinct languages, cultural practices, and traditions, with over 500 lan- factors in health and the practical outcomes observed in
guages each representing ancestral connection to Country (AIATSIS, communities.12
2021). For the purposes of this article, Indigenous will be used to be
consistent with language used in a global health context, and Aboriginal
There are an estimated 476 million Indigenous
and Torres Strait Islander will be used when referring to Australia. peoples, representing 5000 different cultures, living in

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 Review

over 90 countries globally. Indigenous peoples make up vital to improving health equity among Indigenous
6.2 per cent of the world’s population.13 The United peoples, yet it is often marginalised in the design and
Nations defines Indigenous peoples as communities delivery of health initiatives.30 This is partly due to the
with enduring connections to specific ancestral terri- definitional ambiguity of ‘culture’ in clinical health
tories, who are distinguished by unique cultural, social, policies, spaces, and systems. This ambiguity limits
economic, and political institutions separate from the progress in harnessing the therapeutic potential of
mainstream or dominant culture.14 The World Health culturally-centred approaches to health. The aim of this
Organization15 and the United Nations Declaration on narrative review was to document previous research that
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples16 position health as a explores the intersection between culture and health/
fundamental human right that encompasses physical wellbeing in the context of Indigenous peoples and
wellness, as well as mental, social, and spiritual well- places. In doing so, our aim is to build a clearer un-
being. Such definitions underscore the intrinsic right of derstanding of the concept of ‘cultural health’.
Indigenous peoples to practice, revitalise, and develop
their cultural traditions and customs, and flag the Author positionality
importance of cultural heritage and knowledge in the Positionality is used to acknowledge biases and con-
promotion of health among Indigenous peoples and textualise academics’ worldview and how this may impact
places. on research.31,32 Brett Biles is a Murrawarri man living on
In Australia, where this review is concentrated, Wiradjuri Country in Albury Wodonga, Australia. Brett’s
Aboriginal conceptions of health are holistic, and worldviews centre on being a Murrawarri man, which
include physical, mental, spiritual and cultural health impacts all aspects of his life. Brett has worked in
and wellbeing.17 This view is found in the National academia for 14 years. Gavin Stanbrook is a Gumba-
Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party’s compre- nyggirr man living on Gadigal Country in Sydney. Gavin
hensive definition of health,18 which advocates that life is a community organiser for Black rights and has been
and death are cyclical. It is also expressed in un- working in Higher Education since 2014 focusing on
derstandings of the determinants of Aboriginal health, Indigenous Education and Research. Nina Serova is a
which comprise spiritual, environmental, ideological, researcher and writer living on Gadigal Country in Syd-
political, social, economic, mental, and physical factors.8 ney. Nina was born in Russia and emigrated to Australia
Poorer health outcomes occur when one or more of as a child. She researches culture, belonging and place in
these interrelating determinants are interrupted.19 Australia’s settler colonial context. Brooke Brady is a non-
Aboriginal knowledges of health prioritise connec- Indigenous, queer person living on the lands of the
tion to land or Country, culture, spirituality, family, Gadigal people, in the Inner West of Sydney. For the past
historical and contemporary policies and events, and four years, she has worked as an ally with Gamilaraay,
community.20,21 Globally, Indigenous people have a Yuwaalaraay, and Yuin peoples as a part of the Gaa-
deep, holistic and reciprocal connection to Country, waadhi Gadudha research collaborative. Jonathan Kings-
which includes land, sea, waterways, sky, stars, and all ley is Jewish and a second-generation immigrant from
entities within.8,22,23 Terminology varies across different Europe. His research focuses on the intersection between
locations. While Indigenous conceptions in North ecosystems and health, of which connection to Country is
America use the word ‘land’, in Australia, the preferred fundamental. Stephanie M Topp is a non-Indigenous
term is ‘Country’.24 The authors are from Australia and settler of English and Irish heritage. Her research aims
as such, will use ‘Country’ throughout the article unless to surface and challenge epistemic and institutional
we are referring to an international study wherein the injustice by focussing on the intersection of trust, power
term land was used by the authors. and accountability in the design of health workforce
8,22,23
Country is linked to language, identity, and policy and systems. Aryati Yashadhana is a non-
customs that incorporate social, spiritual and cultural Indigenous person of Southeast Asian descent and a
links for Aboriginal peoples.25,26 Many Aboriginal peo- second-generation Australian immigrant. For over a
ples continue to maintain their connection to Country. decade, she has worked as an ally with Indigenous
Gammage27 showed that Aboriginal peoples’ connec- Australian peoples, specifically the Gamilaraay, Yuwaa-
tions to Country are more complex than those of non- laraay, and Yuin peoples of New South Wales and the
Indigenous people. Reconnection back with Country Marra people of Southeast Arnhem Land in health and
after being removed is shown to act as a key contributor cultural research.
to positive health outcomes for Aboriginal people.24 And,
the health and wellbeing benefits of Country are
demonstrated in environmental stewardship and caring Methods
for Country programs.28,29 However, connections to Search strategy and selection criteria
Country are not adequately integrated into mainstream We conducted a narrative review which includes a
(non-Indigenous) health approaches, policies, and pro- scholarly summary, along with interpretation and
gramming.24,28,29 Culture is theoretically recognised as critique33 on the topic of cultural health, using

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systematic methods to identity peer-reviewed papers. Results

Search terms were compiled, and a title and abstract What follows below is a narrative description of the key
search was executed across two databases (Scopus, themes identified by our review. These include Country,
PubMed), and confined to English language papers culture, and Indigenous knowledges. While the litera-
published between 2010 and 2024. ture separately discusses these concepts in relation to
Our search produced 2494 (2194 Scopus; 300 health and wellbeing, our review found that it does not
PubMed) initial results, which were reviewed by two of necessarily present them as inter-connected and equally
the authors (NS, GS) against the selection criteria. These essential to good cultural health. Following this, we
included: People (Indigenous); Health and wellbeing suggest a definition of cultural health which interprets
related; Cultural aspect (for example, Country, connec- these themes, and conclude by drawing attention to the
tion); and Dates (2010–2024). Our key focus was necessary implications of colonial contexts in which
Australia, however, we included select relevant interna- health and culture operate.
tional studies returned by the search term ‘Indigenous’.
The search included empirical and non-empirical Country
studies (such as reflective articles by cultural knowl- Relationship with country
edge holders, systematic reviews and protocol papers, One of the key themes discussed in the literature was
but not book chapters, editorials and theses) and other the relationship between health and wellbeing and
literature reviews. The articles were identified using an connections to Country, land, or nature.6,40–43 Duke
inductive approach, selecting literature that brought et al.44 argue that Indigenous people are defined by their
together aspects of Indigenous peoples’ physical and connection to Country. Sometimes expressed as having
mental health and culture. Culture was either directly a relationship with humankind akin to a mother earth
stated as such in the literature or communicated and the people,45 or as teacher,46 the health of Country is
through studies of cultural practices, land, knowledges, necessary for the health of its people.47 For example, in
identity and spirituality. This part of the search pro- Māori culture, whenua (land) is not considered property
duced 37 articles. but instead as a ‘person’ with rights and mana (au-
One of the authors also supplied 58 articles relevant thority), which in turn provides healing to people.6,48
to the topic. These articles were identified by searching 43,44,49–51
People who are disconnected from Country
the databases Informit, Scopus, PubMed and CINHAL experience distress49,50 and Pandey et al.51 argue that
for articles published between 2019 and 2024. The changes to land use and access impact psychological
search terms applied were “Aboriginal” OR “Indige- wellbeing.6,45–48 Physical and sensory experiences on
nous” OR “First Nations” AND “Country” OR “land” Country.
OR “environment” AND “health” OR “wellbeing”. Being physically present on Country plays an
In total, 95 papers were identified by our screening important role in improving physical health and social
process (Fig. 1) as relevant to our review. Included pa- and emotional wellbeing. Examples include improved
pers were categorised by source information (author, maternal care through birthing on Country52; better
year, location) and overarching theme as related to cul- dialysis outcomes when receiving treatment on Coun-
tural health (see Table 1 in Supplementary Materials). try53; and the development of a trauma-informed holistic
Included papers were primarily from Australia (n = 57) community and land-based healing approaches.54
and largely fell within the themes of ‘connection to land Conversely, policies and actions that reduce access to
and Country’ (n = 32), and ‘cultural practices’ (n = 27). or sovereignty over land, such as mining leases, have
The identified papers included both empirical and non- been shown to negatively impact Indigenous peoples’
empirical work and varied in their approach: some were mental health. The sensory experience of Country
study protocols (e.g. Burns et al.,34 some acted as eval- including sitting around a campfire, listening to birds
uations of various interventions (e.g. Campbell et al.35), and seeing trees and water has been seen to increase a
some suggested tools for measuring wellbeing among sense of belonging and healing, which is linked to better
Indigenous people (e.g. Masotti et al.36), some proposed health outcomes.12 The literature documents that health
strategies for research (e.g. Walker et al.37) and clinical is linked inextricably to sovereignty over land.55 Josewski
practice (e.g. 38) and some addressed the conceptual et al.56 argue that the framework of ‘social determinants
intersection of culture and health (e.g. Martin et al.39). of health’ is insufficient if it does not account for place-
Each paper was reviewed in detail and data relevant to based approaches.
the interconnecting concepts of culture, health and
wellbeing were documented. Country and culture as intertwined
Social systems and cultural practices are entwined with
Role of funding source Country.53 Country is increasingly recognised as a cen-
The funders of our study have no role in the study tral determinant of health for Indigenous people, in
design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, or Canada and elsewhere.47 Connection to Country,
writing of this manuscript. through cultural practices is an important determinant

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 Review

targeted databases
(n = 2494)

Title/abstract screening Records excluded

Screening

(n = 2494) including duplicates

(n = 2364)
Eligibility

Records ide for full text eligibility

(n = 130)

(n=95) Studies included

which considered ways in
Included

which culture interacts

with Indigenous peoples
health and wellbeing.
Australia (n=57); Globally,
including New Zealand,
Canada, United States
and India (n=38)

Fig. 1: Inclusion screening.

of health and healing.43,49,57–60 Intricately related to revitalisation and healing,48,59,63,64 and environmental
Country are the teachings and lived practices of culture. stewardship or land management,28,29,40,57,58,65–68 such as
Cultural connectedness, knowledge and identity are park ranger programs.69,70 Redvers41 notes the positive
determinants of health and wellbeing,61,62 as are lan- impact of a land-based healing camp in Canada for those
guage and collective values. Martin et al., express this facing substance abuse and homelessness. Land-based
ontology as follows39: education and events that centralise relationships to
Country were found to positively impact participants’
Five core Kānaka Maoli values/concepts informed the sense of self, identity development, and mental health.45
activities for the IWR [Indigenous Writing Retreat]: The health of the environment as a determinant of hu-
aloha, pono, mana, kuleana, and ʻohana. Each value man health is a core aspect in Indigenous health and
has multilayered meanings. From a Kānaka Maoli wellbeing. Climate change emerged within this narra-
perspective, we begin with aloha (love, empathy, tive review as explicitly linked to disrupted connection to
compassion) and work toward becoming pono (balance Country. The literature showed the intersection of
in mind, body, and spirit). Guided by our mana climate change, Country and health from Elders’ per-
(Divine power; life force energy) and Indigenous beliefs spectives47; the impact of climate change71; and pro-
and processes, we strive to act in a pono (balanced, fair, longed drought72 on the health and wellbeing of
just, hopeful) manner and carry our kuleana (birth- Indigenous communities; and an Indigenous person’s
right, privilege, and responsibility) graciously and perspective of wildfires.73 A land-based healing and
authentically. wellness program which centres cultural practices on
Country was shown to improve mental health out-
Caring for country comes.41 In Australia, the use of Aboriginal gathering
Active participation in caring for Country was found to places highlighted the benefits of place-based initiatives
improve social and emotional wellbeing6 through in exploring the cultural determinants of health.62

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Culture wellbeing.86–88 This was documented in examples where

Cultural practices services are informed by, and provided from within
Indigenous cultural practices offer frameworks for ho- cultural practices.89
listic systems of healing,74 and nurture the tangible as- Culturally safe mentorship created a positive experi-
pects of the reciprocal relationships between people, ence for nurses and midwives38 and a model of inter-
Country and culture. Much like connection to Country, culturality was suggested to address health workers’
disruption of cultural practices has been shown to be racial microaggressions in remote locations.90 The
detrimental to wellbeing.75 Cultural practices, such as concept of cultural comfort was put forward to ensure
caring for Country, improve the health and resilience of health delivery happens within cultural practices91 and
environments and agency and stewardship over lands is Indigenous governance was argued to be a prerequisite
essential.76 For example, Wright et al.70 hypothesise that for ethical health research.44 The notion of resilience in
family and life satisfaction rates detected in their study health promotion was also raised by Teufel-Shone.92
on Indigenous rangers could be partially explained by When culture was centred in an early intervention
the rangers’ increase in cultural practices. People have program designed to address the needs of vulnerable
described benefits derived from ceremony, including children and families, it was found to enhance Aborig-
the lifelong impact of strengthening identity, belonging inal maternal and child health outcomes.61 Reid et al.93
and countering the impacts of ongoing settler colo- also highlighted the benefits of integrating cultural
nialism.77 A study by Newman et al.78 looked at the considerations into Indigenous children’s health checks.
Alaskan Athabaskans’ wellbeing outcomes following a Furthermore, a decolonial approach which prioritised
program that worked with Elder mentorship and sled families, communities and culture was identified as a
dogs. Other specific cultural practices that led to crucial approach to treating trauma and enhancing
improved wellbeing included: language reclamation79; health and wellbeing.94
land management programs that addressed food inse-
curity76; and a prison program that listened to sounds of Communality
Country.80 Communality, or a connection to family and commu-
nity, is a core cultural value that is central to good health
Cultural identity and wellbeing.75 Growing up in an Aboriginal family
It is understood that due to the inter-generational and community is associated with being well.95 Indi-
traumas of colonisation, Aboriginal peoples continue vidual and community cannot be separated, so whole
to lose their cultural connections and identity, which families should be involved in healing,64 including in
negatively affects their health and wellbeing.81 Masotti making a good life for people with disability.96 This is
et al.82 demonstrates a positive link between cultural considered lore by Elders in Indigenous communities.93
connectedness and mental health and wellbeing by Care is an important dimension in the lives of children97
measuring culture against identity, traditions, and and some advocate for the recognition of all family as
spirituality. In their research with Alaskan people, care recipients, in child and family services.35
Newman et al.78 write that as well as achieving goals,
remaining busy, maintaining spirituality and passing on Traditional healing modalities
culture, developing a strong identity as a Native person Traditional healing was an important area explored in
constitutes an element of individual wellbeing. Social the literature. This included the use of traditional
and emotional wellbeing scales are beginning to include medicines,23,81,98 including plant therapies,99 use of cer-
cultural identity and practices such as sorry busi- emony, such as traditional sweat lodge,100 and the sig-
nesses.83 From a Yuin (Aboriginal Nation—South Coast nificance of spirituality in the healing process.101 In their
New South Wales, Australia) perspective, the metaphor review of such approaches across different Indigenous
of rekindling describes the reclamation of the self in the cultures globally, Day et al.101 argue that each culture has
process of a journey—which is an integral part of the unique ways of nurturing relationships with the Creator,
interconnection of identity, wellbeing and Country.84 the earth, and humankind through sacred rituals.
Land-based activities with a focus on strengthening
cultural identity, facilitating intergenerational knowl- Indigenous knowledges
edge transfer, and building relationships with others Given the distinction drawn by the literature between
were shown to improve the holistic health of Indigenous Western biomedical and Indigenous conceptions of
youth.85 health and wellbeing and approaches to healing, it is
necessary to highlight the importance of Indigenist
Cultural safety in health services and programs epistemologies. Aboriginal people have described spiri-
Cultural safety in healthcare settings and health tuality as ‘at the core of Aboriginal being, their very
research emerged as a major topic.82 The links between identity’.87 Spirituality involves ways of knowing that
culture and wellbeing are clearly associated with ways of stretch beyond the cognitive (through dreams, visions,
expanding Western perspectives of health, healing and intuition)102 and through ritual, spiritual knowledges

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reflect unique ways of nurturing connections with the From within these integrated conceptions of health
Creator, earth and humankind.101 and wellbeing, three key themes characterised more
Spiritual knowledges and the belief in the intercon- specific descriptions of cultural health. First—connec-
nectedness of all things, was found to have a significant tion to Country, with cultural health described as
relationship to Indigenous health and wellbeing.103 An embedded in Country and sacred sites. Second—
example from a review on the role of traditional medi- Indigenous people and their knowledge-making, with
cine practice found that Aboriginal peoples within cultural health situated along the continuum of indi-
Australia may view ill health as the result of one of three vidual and collective past, present and future, across
causes—a natural physical cause, a spirit causing harm, body, heart and spirit,40 and understood as part of a cycle
or sickness due to sorcery.98 Yamane et al. state that of life-death-life.71,108 Third—culture and the cultural
privileging cultural ways of knowing, being and doing is practices that connect people and Country, including
a means to achieving health and wellbeing and suggest important ‘modalities’ such as Indigenous ways of
a culture-as-health model to do so.7 87,98,101–103Other knowing, cultural practices, sacred sites and spirituality,
research in this area looked at Elders’ perspectives of as described by Yamane and Helm.728.
wellbeing,104 how Elders’ knowledge of the land informs These themes support a definition of cultural health
health and wellbeing practices,46 and considered Māori as the outcome of the interactions between the three
conceptions of health, as related to cardiovascular elements of: Country—which includes lands, waters, skies
research.105 Martin et al.39 look at the ways health relates and living and non-living entities; People—and their
to the cultivation of Form (intellectual knowledge) and freedom and ability to express and maintain connections to
Essence (expression of true intention and authentic culture and country; and Culture—which encompasses
feeling) and O’Flynn et al.97 explore the possibility for identity, language and knowledges and is maintained and
health educators to see children as Country—to listen strengthened through active connection to Country and
to, learn from, and see the child spirit. Yarning was cultural practices. Of note, the resilience and strength
evidenced as a research method within a community- derived from these intersecting dimensions were noted
based Indigenous women’s wellness project37 and a to offer pathways towards improved health outcomes
study by Rasmus et al.106 explored perspectives essential and revitalising health systems in the context of ongoing
to developing culturally appropriate health in- settler colonialism and racism.
terventions. Further, in the health research space, In Australia, these core components of cultural health
attention is drawn to how measures of wellbeing may must be situated in a contemporary context of ongoing
miss culturally relevant variables, such as relationship colonisation. Because health and wellbeing are so closely
with Country.107 Rolleston et al.105 argue that research tied to culture, Indigenous people are affected by traumas
and interpretation based on the Māori worldview and health disparities resulting from ongoing settler
(emphasising relationships, collectivism, and cross- colonialism, which destroys self-determination and limits
disciplinarity) is essential to improving Māori health access to resources.34 Cullen et al.94 call this ‘situational,
outcomes. Conceptual frameworks for wellbeing68 are cumulative and transgenerational trauma with profound
being developed to account for the collective and holistic impacts on health and wellbeing.’ Interference in the
view of health, with culturally informed dimensions passing of knowledge over generations inhibit peoples’
including community, Country, culture, spirituality, and ability to fulfill their ancient teachings and cultural re-
others.103 sponsibilities, which impacts wellbeing.109 The separation
of peoples’ bodies from their Country has removed their
source of strength, health, and wellbeing.99 Among
Discussion increasing arguments for the need to integrate saluto-
What is cultural health and how might it be genic (health protecting) approaches to health,86 self-
defined? determination is cited as a counter to the continuing
Although not explicitly described as such, the literature impacts of colonialism.110
strongly supports the idea of health and wellbeing as a Overall, the literature put forward a number of spe-
state of balance,1 with various works describing cific elements that are important to the health and well-
Aboriginal health as comprising multiple, non- being of Indigenous people, and the ways in which these
hierarchical components or dimensions. Burns et al. are connected to multi-faceted definitions of culture.
write55: ‘mental health is interconnected with other di-
mensions of health (physical, emotional, and spiritual) and
with cultural identity and place’. And, Butler et al.22 Conclusion
specify the inextricably connected domains of well- Indigenous cultural health encompasses the intercon-
being: ‘autonomy, empowerment and recognition; family nectedness of Country, people and culture, demanding a
and community; culture, spirituality and identity; Country; holistic approach that integrates Indigenous knowledges
basic needs; work, roles and responsibilities; education; and cultural practices. In Australia, these core compo-
physical health; and mental health’. nents of Indigenous cultural health must be situated in

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BB: Writing—review and editing; Funding acquisition. 2020.
16 Peoples UNDotRoI. 2007.
JK: Writing—review and editing; Funding acquisition.
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Declaration of interests Emerald Group Publishing Limited; 2013:45–64.
None declared. 21 Council MAHA. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health perfor-
mance framework: 2017 report. Department of the Prime Minster
Acknowledgements and Cabinet; 2017.
Funding statement: This study was funded by the Australian Govern- 22 Butler TL, Anderson K, Garvey G, et al. Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people’s domains of wellbeing: a comprehensive literature
ment’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRF2009522 & MRF2025330).
review. Soc Sci Med. 2019;233:138–157.
Brooke Brady–Australian Research Council, Fellowship FL190100011 23 Gall A, Leske S, Adams J, et al. Traditional and complementary
supports Brooke’s research role, but not involved in conduct of this medicine use among indigenous cancer patients in Australia,
project. Stephanie M. Topp–NHMRC Investigator Grant, GNT1173004 Canada, New Zealand, and the United States: a systematic review.
supported Stephanie’s contribution to the work. Integr Cancer Ther. 2018;17(3):568–581.
24 Kingsley J, Munro-Harrison E, Jenkins A, Thorpe A. Developing a
Appendix A. Supplementary data framework identifying the outcomes, principles and enablers of
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at [Link] ‘gathering places’: perspectives from Aboriginal people in Victoria,
Australia. Soc Sci Med. 2021;283:114217.
org/10.1016/[Link].2024.101220.
25 Goggin CL, Please PM, Ridges MJ, et al. Connecting with Country
in Mungo National Park, Australia: a case study to measure the
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