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Steven Kelly
PhD student
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Kelly is a Yamatji man from the mid-west of Western Australia.
He began a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree at Edith Cowan University,
Perth in 1996 on a part-time basis whilst completing a traineeship
for a Government housing agency called Homeswest in East Perth.
After a couple of years doing part-time study, working full-time
and paying a mortgage Steven decided to have a break from studying.
After five years break he came to Darwin and enrolled in the
Indigenous Pre-Arts program and then applied to resume the degree
he had started in Perth. Steven completed his BA majoring in
Anthropology in the first semester of 2005 and applied for the
Honours program of which I was accepted into. Steven has recently
completed the Honours program and is looking forward to pursuing
post-graduate study.
ABSTRACT
This thesis is concerned with examining barriers Indigenous men
face whilst accessing dialysis treatment for End-stage Renal
Disease (ESRD). ESRD is a phenomenon that has been occurring
very recently in Australia with particularly devastating affects on
Indigenous people and it is with this in mind that this research
was undertaken. The focus of study was in the Northern
Territory (NT) however; the emphasis was mainly based in the
‘Top End’ of the NT
This thesis examines both the western biomedical model of health as
well as the Indigenous perspective on health and highlights
historical evidence that concludes that Indigenous people were and
still are acutely aware of bodily organs that include the kidney
and that there is a vast difference between Indigenous and
non-Indigenous perspectives on health. Moreover, indicators
are that sorcery plays an integral part of Indigenous world-view on
health.
The research for this thesis was collected through data sourced
from secondary information that included both qualitative and
quantitative methodologies. Findings of this study concluded
that there are significant programs that have adopted holistic
culturally appropriate programs that assist with reducing barriers
Indigenous men face whilst accessing dialysis treatment. However,
more research is needed to bridge the gap of understanding between
two vastly different ideologies of health and wellbeing.
