Table 3 Health professionals’ responses to the cultural awareness questionnaire at baseline and 18-weeks
Statements | Baseline (n = 18) | 18-weeks (n = 11) |
|---|---|---|
Perceptions of Aboriginal Australians (1SA-5SD), median (IQR) | Â | Â |
 Aboriginal people in Canberra use health services more than non-Aboriginal people | 4 (3–4) | 5 (4–5) |
 You can tell who is Aboriginal just by looking at them | 5 (4–5) | 5 (5–5) |
 Aboriginal people get too much government money | 4 (3.75–5) | 5 (4–5) |
 Aboriginal people are generally well accepted in the Canberra community | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) |
 Educational opportunities are unfairly given to Aboriginal people | 4 (4–5) | 5 (4–5) |
 Social policies—especially in the 1950s and 1960s—helped to improve people | 4.5 (3.75–5) | 5 (5–5)* |
Familiarity or friendships with Aboriginal people, number no (%) | Â | Â |
 Outside of work do you know any Aboriginal people reasonably well?, | 9 (50) | 6 (55) |
 Do you have any friends who are Aboriginal? | 12 (67) | 4 (36) |
 Do you work with any Aboriginal people? | 11 (61) | 4 (64) |
Attitudes towards Aboriginal people (1SA-5SD), median (IQR) | Â | Â |
 Aboriginal clients are easy to deal with | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) |
 Health staff sometimes feel threatened by Aboriginal clients | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) |
 Aboriginal clients tend to have more complex problems than other clients do | 2 (2–3.25) | 2 (1–3) |
 I am apprehensive about interactions with Aboriginal people | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–5) |
 Aboriginal health problems are largely due to changes in lifestyle and diet | 3 (2–4) | 4 (2–4) |
Knowledge of contemporary Aboriginal health outcomes (1 ‘a bit less’—5 ‘more than 10 times the rate’), median (IQR) |  |  |
 What is the rate of developing diabetes in Aboriginal people, compared to non-Aboriginal people | 4 (3.75–4) | 4 (4–5) |
 What is the rate of presentations with heart disease by Aboriginal people to hospital (emergency departments, inpatients), compared to non-Aboriginal people | 4 (2.75–4.5) | 4 (3–5) |