Sport and Indigenous Australian women: Improving health outcomes

What is it about?

The sporting experiences and community strengths of Indigenous Australian women. The intention is to inform health promotion and contemporary sport management strategies, and policies and practices, leading to better health outcomes for this cohort. The authors combine data from a range of sources, including interviews and focus groups with 22 Indigenous women living in urban and rural areas, narratives from elite Indigenous athletes and coaches, as well as findings from a recent Australian Parliamentary inquiry into Indigenous health and wellbeing. The paper argues that Indigenous women can become empowered to improve their mental and physical health through participation in sport. Sport managers can facilitate Indigenous women's agency in the effects of colonisation, which continues to be the basis of health issues for this cohort. Listening to Indigenous women and facilitating opportunities for them to take control of their own participation can help facilitate this process.

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Why is it important?

To understand the sporting experiences of Indigenous women in Australia in relation to improving health outcomes. To explore Indigenous-women's only sporting opportunities and their partnerships with health agencies and sports organisations.