“It Is All About Education, Isn’t It?”: Community Priorities for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adolescent Nutrition Program

Renae Earle; Robyn Littlewood; Simone Nalatu; Floyd Leedie; Salifu Yusif; Jacqueline L. Walker

doi:10.3390/ijerph23040461

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“It Is All About Education, Isn’t It?”: Community Priorities for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adolescent Nutrition Program

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

“It Is All About Education, Isn’t It?”: Community Priorities for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adolescent Nutrition Program

Renae Earle, Robyn Littlewood, Simone Nalatu, Floyd Leedie, Salifu Yusif and Jacqueline L. Walker

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.23(4), pp.1-22

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23040461

PMID: 42074400

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Abstract

adolescent

Indigenous

nutrition

prevention

qualitative

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents living in rural communities do not have sufficient access to health promotion services. Community programs that respond to adolescent needs, highlight community strengths, and are locally tailored are needed. Set in Queensland (Australia), this study was cross-sectional and qualitative in design. Using implementation science and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander frameworks, this study aimed to identify community priorities for the co-design of a culturally appropriate, empowerment-focused nutrition program with rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents. Through community yarning, the barriers, enablers, and opportunities for program implementation were explored within an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organization. Ten adolescents, two parents/caregivers, eight healthcare staff, six community leaders, and four Elders participated. Thematic analysis identified six themes that outline community health priorities, contextualization to the local food environment, and the importance of cooking skills for empowerment and involving the family unit. Thematic analysis also explored community preferences for program evaluation. Themes were integrated with other knowledge sources to develop a program outline that is aligned with evidence-based practice and community voice. Implementation of the co-designed program is recommended and will be explored in partnership with the community through future research.

Details

Title: “It Is All About Education, Isn’t It?”: Community Priorities for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adolescent Nutrition Program
Authors: Renae Earle - The University of Queensland
Robyn Littlewood - Health and Wellbeing Queensland
Simone Nalatu - Health and Wellbeing Queensland
Floyd Leedie - Goondir Health Services (Australia)
Salifu Yusif - Goondir Health Services (Australia)
Jacqueline L. Walker - The University of Queensland
Publication details: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.23(4), pp.1-22
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph23040461
ISSN: 1660-4601
PMID: 42074400
Copyright note: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
Data Availability: Data are unavailable due to privacy and ethical restrictions. As the data collected in this research are qualitative and difficult to de-identify, the data are not being made publicly available in the interests of protecting participant anonymity.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Public Health
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991245898202621
Output Type: Journal article

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