Food policies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health (FoodPATH): A systems thinking approach

Abstract

First Nations peoples have the right to participate in all decisions affecting them. This includes food policy decision-making. In the Australian state of Victoria, the Food Policies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (FoodPATH) project aimed to determine the food policy actions that are likely to be effective and acceptable for Victorian Aboriginal Communities. Community-based workshops were held with six Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) in urban and regional Victoria during 2022. A team of at least three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander facilitators guided participants (n = 53) through a series of workshop activities using group model building methods. Group model building is a participatory systems science research method which enables community stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of the system-level drivers of complex problems and co-design actions to address them. Workshop discussions coincided with real-time creation of a visual system map of the interconnected determinants of food choice. Participants used these maps to develop and prioritise actions for improving food environments and nutrition in the community. Participants identified a diverse array of interconnected factors influencing food choice and nutrition in Aboriginal Communities across Victoria. Food access and affordability, junk food marketing, food knowledge and skills and diet and disease were common themes across all sites, while access to junk food, growing local food, traditional Aboriginal foods, and family, Community and culture were key themes in most sites. Results informed a Community-driven agenda, comprising five Community-led actions and five government policy recommendations for improving food environments and nutrition for Victorian Aboriginal Communities.