Yarning a better ED experience for Australian First Nations
Tracks
Room 2
| Wednesday, December 2, 2026 |
| 1:50 PM - 2:10 PM |
| Concurrent Room 1 |
Overview
Magali Goirand
Speaker
Dr Magali Goirand
Macquarie University
Yarning a better ED experience for Australian First Nations
Abstract
Introduction: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) people tend to have poor outcomes and experiences in hospital Emergency Departments (ED). They often delay seeking care or leave before receiving treatment due to feeling unsafe. This study aimed to understand how Aboriginal people experience ED care and co-design innovations to improve those experiences.
Methods: The project was co-designed by an Aboriginal Reference Group (ARG) and the research team. Community consultation was conducted through two rounds of yarning circles — culturally safe gatherings where experiences and decisions are shared collaboratively. The circles focused on the first 15 minutes in the ED and ED discharge, identified as critical points in the treatment journey. The first round gathered stories of ED experiences, while the second developed and refined interventions, initially with Aboriginal people and then joined by ED clinicians.
Results: Four yarning circles were held in the first round and ten in the second, with four to eight participants each. In total, 35 Community members and six ED clinicians participated. Co-designed interventions included: Aboriginal art in the ED physical space, experiential cultural safety training for ED staff, a visual aid to signal a patient's Aboriginality at triage, infographics of Aboriginal services for staff referrals, and a portable wallet-sized infographic for patients acting as an ED navigation aid and an Aboriginal health passport holding key information for ED staff.
Conclusion: The co-designed interventions extend beyond the ED and reflect the Aboriginal concept of health as community-based rather than individual-based.
Acknowledgement: We would like to acknowledge Narelle Holden for her wisdom, insights and guidance during her tenure at the Aboriginal Reference Group, all yarning circle participants, and the greater team who made this project possible.
Methods: The project was co-designed by an Aboriginal Reference Group (ARG) and the research team. Community consultation was conducted through two rounds of yarning circles — culturally safe gatherings where experiences and decisions are shared collaboratively. The circles focused on the first 15 minutes in the ED and ED discharge, identified as critical points in the treatment journey. The first round gathered stories of ED experiences, while the second developed and refined interventions, initially with Aboriginal people and then joined by ED clinicians.
Results: Four yarning circles were held in the first round and ten in the second, with four to eight participants each. In total, 35 Community members and six ED clinicians participated. Co-designed interventions included: Aboriginal art in the ED physical space, experiential cultural safety training for ED staff, a visual aid to signal a patient's Aboriginality at triage, infographics of Aboriginal services for staff referrals, and a portable wallet-sized infographic for patients acting as an ED navigation aid and an Aboriginal health passport holding key information for ED staff.
Conclusion: The co-designed interventions extend beyond the ED and reflect the Aboriginal concept of health as community-based rather than individual-based.
Acknowledgement: We would like to acknowledge Narelle Holden for her wisdom, insights and guidance during her tenure at the Aboriginal Reference Group, all yarning circle participants, and the greater team who made this project possible.
Biography
Magali Goirand is an early career researcher in the Human Factors and Resilience stream, a team of health services researchers at the Australian Institute of Health innovation.Her current research includes the co-design of a better ED experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Western Sydney. Her PhD research focused on the implementation of ethics in medical AI using Critical Systems Thinking which includes participatory processes. She has an extensive experience conducting qualitative studies involving the participation of consumers, including consumers with disability, CALD background consumers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, clinicians, and other stakeholders including AI professionals.
She spent 25 years working in the high-tech industry managing business programs as part of a global team. She also has experience facilitating systems thinking leadership workshops for Aboriginal health centres and welfare organisations. Her background is multidisciplinary and includes signal processing, acoustics, software development, business, Buddhism, and health innovation.
